Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe experience of migrants crossing the Mediterranean has been represented as that of passive components of large‐scale human flows driven by conflicts, migration policies and smuggling. This article proposes a reflection on the advantages of using a social network lens to better understand these experiences at a micro‐ and meso‐level, bringing to the fore the personal and relational dimensions. By examining the narratives of people who reached the coasts of Sicily (Italy) via the Libyan route, the article highlights the key role of local and transnational ties at every single juncture of these very long, often serendipitous journeys. The concept of 'journey' is used to frame this analysis, but also to debunk some of the deterministic, static and Euro‐centred assumptions, which have characterized mainstream narratives and some scholarly debates. Thus, the refugee journey emerges as a fluid process characterized by the continuous deconstruction and reconstruction of social networks.

ABSTRACT [English] - Migration across the Mediterranean is often presented – in media and political debates - as a single, transnational phenomenon, characterised by steady inflows of people, seemingly guided by uncontrollable forces. This chapter, by examining official statistics for the 2014-2018 period, aims to present a different narrative. It compares the different sub-regional scenarios – particularly focusing on Greece, Italy and Spain as countries of arrivals – and its variations over time, looking at sea arrivals as well as search and rescue and death-at-sea data. In doing so, it highlights the complexity of a multiplicity of 'refugee crises', but also the major role that is played by national governments and other international actors not just in shaping migration flows but also in determining their humanitarian impact.ABSTRACT [Español] La migración a través del Mediterráneo se presenta a menudo –en los medios de comunicación y en los debates políticos– como un fenómeno único, transnacional, que se caracteriza por flujos constantes de personas, aparentemente guiados por fuerzas incontrolables. Este artículo pretende ofrecer un enfoque alternativo y analiza las estadísticas oficiales del período 2014-2018; compara los distintos casos subregionales (en particular Grecia, Italia y España como países de llegada) y sus variaciones en el tiempo, poniendo el foco en los datos sobre las llegadas por mar, búsqueda y salvamento así como las muertes ocurridas. De este modo, se subraya la complejidad de las múltiples «crisis de los refugiados », así como la función primordial que desempeñan los gobiernos nacionales y otros actores internacionales, no solo en la configuración de los flujos migratorios sino también en el impacto humanitario.

The recent surge of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in search of protection has presented a major challenge for the whole European Union. What has been labelled as a 'refugee crisis' is first and foremost a crisis of international politics and the result of inadequate response mechanisms at local level. This paper focuses on the case of Sicily, the second main area of arrival, after Greece, when migration to the Mediterranean reached its peak. With a long history of immigration, since 2015 the Italian island has seen the implementation of a new approach based on 'hotspots': designated areas for the separation of those deemed as economic migrants from 'genuine asylum seekers'. In the view of some, this has made Italy into a model of migration management, as opposed to the chaotic situation of the Greek islands. The hotspot approach, however, has been also criticised for being engrained on practices that many deem unlawful, actively producing discrimination and condemning many migrants to an illegal status on the Italian soil. Informed by findings from an international research project (EVI-MED), this paper examines this complex scenario, exploring the social, legal and human implications of the refugees' reception system in Italy.

AbstractWhile in recent years, qualitative social network analysis (SNA) has advanced considerably – particularly in migration research – there is still an overall tendency to focus more on issues of network structure and on the generation of data, rather than on how data can be interpreted and analysed qualitatively in practice. In this article, we discuss how a genuinely qualitative SNA should not only apply qualitative techniques in generating visual and oral network data but also in the analytical processes. Building on our earlier work, we advance methodological debates by presenting the idea of 'conceptual reflexivity': an awareness of how our thinking about networks and the ways in which we interact with participants – and the wider field – inform layers of meaning making. Using two recent examples from our migration research, we explore the inter‐subjectivity of the research encounter, offering insights into the 'craft' of qualitative SNA and the epistemological issues underpinning it. In doing so, we aim to make analytical processes more open and visible, to reveal, so to speak, what goes on behind the curtain: the 'magic trick' of how qualitative SNA is performed.

Drawing on the seminal work of Goffman, Krackhardt and others, this paper argues that there is a crucial step in between participants' perceptions and the collection and visualisation of data – i.e. what we call the presentation of the networked self. We employ examples from our own empirical work in the UK to argue that the presentation of the networked self requires researchers to adopt a highly reflexive approach. Framing our analysis within the context of contemporary society – including the impact of social media on a 'networking mindset' – we explore the range of ethical dilemmas which can emerge during a research encounter.

Growing concerns and hostility towards continuing large-scale flows of immigrants following the two rounds of EU enlargement and high levels of net migration played a major part in the Brexit referendum result for the UK to leave the EU. So too had welfare chauvinism, or the belief that welfare benefits should be restricted to citizens, come to the fore in negative attitudes to EU immigration, reflecting a rejection of EU migrants as fellow citizens. As the article shows, proposals as of summer 2017 for the status of current EU citizens in the UK indicate a desire by the UK government to incorporate current EU citizens within the far more restrictive British immigration rules, thereby curtailing some of their basic free movement rights, especially in relation to future family members. Leaked proposals for future EU citizens post-Brexit are to bring them within a single overall immigration system covering EU and non-EU migrants and applying differential rights of residence to skilled and less skilled, thereby stratifying EU migrants according to educational level and labour market sector. This would represent a return to the status of mobile workers with conditional rights of residence and social entitlements similar to those faced by non-EU migrants.

Focusing on migrant social networks, this paper draws upon the sociology of time to incorporate complex notions of temporality into the research process. In so doing, we consider firstly, the challenge of going 'beyond the snapshot' in data collection to capture dynamism through time. Secondly, we apply the concepts of timescapes to explore ways of addressing the wider context and the interplay between spatiality, temporality and relationality in migration research. We argue that integrating a mixed methods approach to SNA, crucially including visualisation, can provide a useful methodological and analytical framework to understand dynamics. SNA can also be helpful in bridging the personal and structural dimensions in migration research, by providing a meso level of analysis. However, it is also important to connect the investigation of local and transnational networks with an analysis of the broader social, economic and political contexts in which these take shape; in other words, connecting the micro and the meso with the wider macro level. Drawing upon reflections from our migration research studies, we argue that different combinations of quantitative, qualitative and visual methods do not just provide richer sets of data and insights, but can allow us to better connect conceptualisations – and ontologies – of social networks with specific methodological frameworks.

Focusing on migrant social networks, this paper draws upon the sociology of time to incorporate complex notions of temporality into the research process. In so doing, we consider firstly, the challenge of going 'beyond the snapshot' in data collection to capture dynamism through time. Secondly, we apply the concepts of timescapes to explore ways of addressing the wider context and the interplay between spatiality, temporality and relationality in migration research. We argue that integrating a mixed methods approach to SNA, crucially including visualisation, can provide a useful methodological and analytical framework to understand dynamics. SNA can also be helpful in bridging the personal and structural dimensions in migration research, by providing a meso level of analysis. However, it is also important to connect the investigation of local and transnational networks with an analysis of the broader social, economic and political contexts in which these take shape; in other words, connecting the micro and the meso with the wider macro level. Drawing upon reflections from our migration research studies, we argue that different combinations of quantitative, qualitative and visual methods do not just provide richer sets of data and insights, but can allow us to better connect conceptualisations – and ontologies – of social networks with specific methodological frameworks.

Migrant Capital presents state-of-the-art empirical, theoretical and methodological perspectives on migration, networks, social and cultural capital, exploring the ways in which these bodies of literature can inform and strengthen each other. In so doing, it brings the theoretical and methodological dimensions into dialogue with each other. The migrants discussed in the book are ethnically and socio-economically diverse and have a range of migratory trajectories and experiences. Various types of networks are looked at and compared: intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic; locally-based, national and transnational; informal and formal, including migrant community organisations. Migrant Capital is international in focus drawing on research from Australia, North America, the Caribbean and across Europe. Migration research often focuses on individual cases, thereby running the risk of over-emphasising the peculiarities of particular migrant groups and locations, leading to criticisms of empirical nationalism. The range of case studies in this collection can open up a comparative perspective in order to contribute to a broader theoretical framework rooted in empirical research.

The paper investigates the place of visual tools in mixed-methods research on social networks, arguing that they can not only improve the communicability of results, but also support research at the data gathering and analysis stages. Three examples from the authors' own research experience illustrate how sociograms can be integrated in multiple ways with other analytical tools, both quantitative and qualitative, positioning visualization at the intersection of varied methods and channelling substantive ideas as well as network insight in a coherent way. Visualization also facilitates the participation of a broad range of stakeholders, including among others, study participants and non-specialist researchers. It can support the capacity of qualitative and mixed-methods research to reach out to areas of the social that are difficult to circumscribe, such as hidden populations and informal organisations. On this basis, visualization appears as a unique opportunity for mixing methods in the study of social networks, emphasizing both structure and process at the same time.

Migrant Capital covers a broad range of case studies and, by bringing together leading and emerging researchers, presents state-of-the-art empirical, theoretical and methodological perspectives on migration, networks, social and cultural capital, exploring the ways in which these bodies of literature can inform and strengthen each other.

The arrival of more than one million migrants, many of them refugees, has proved a major test for the European Union. Although international relief and monitoring agencies have been critical of makeshift camps in Calais and Eidomeni where infectious disease and overcrowding present major health risks, few have examined the nature of the official reception system and its impact on health delivery. Drawing upon research findings from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project, this article considers the physical and mental health of asylum–seekers in transit and analyses how the closure of borders has engendered health risks for populations in recognised reception centres in Sicily and in Greece. Data gathered by means of a survey administered in Greece (300) and in Sicily (400), and complemented by in-depth interviews with migrants (45) and key informants (50) including representatives of government offices, humanitarian and relief agencies, NGOs and activist organisations, are presented to offer an analysis of the reception systems in the two frontline states. We note that medical provision varies significantly from one centre to another and that centre managers play a critical role in the transmission of vital information. A key finding is that, given such disparity, the criteria used by the UNHCR to grade health services reception do not address the substantive issue that prevent refugees from accessing health services, even when provided on site. Health provision is not as recorded in UNHCR reporting but rather there are critical gaps between provision, awareness, and access for refugees in reception systems in Sicily and in Greece. This article concludes that there is a great need for more information campaigns to direct refugees to essential services.