Contemporary European Emigration: Situating Integration in New Destinations

At a time when European unity is politically challenged by the question of immigration and integration, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are significant numbers of Europeans leaving the continent. Academically, little is known about why Europeans leave the continent, how they chose their destination, and how they experience their migrant life. Drawing on the lived experiences of contemporary European emigrants from a range of different countries, this book sheds light on how global economic, political and social transformations spur new forms of migration and mobility experiences.

Contemporary European Emigration explores how Europeans experience economic, cultural or social integration, and the power relations which play out between them and their hosts. By delving through the lenses of national and racial identity, gender, age, and profession, this book provides enticing insights into how Europeans see themselves in the world.

By shifting our focus to migrants leaving Europe and observing the emerging challenges to European superiority as they play out in the microlevel of people’s everyday lives, this book provides a nuanced understanding of contemporary migration. Researchers within Migration Studies and European Studies will find this book an important addition to the literature.

Brigitte Suter is senior researcher and lecturer in International Migration and Ethnic Relations at the Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM) at Malmö University in Sweden. She has been researching a wide range of migration-related topics and has profound experience in qualitative, interpretative research methods. Her research interests include (im)mobility, social networks, the transformative potential of migration, ethnography, the mobility of highly skilled migrants in the global economy, as well as the role of norms and values in the field of migration and integration. Her latest publications include ‘Migration as Adventure: Swedish Corporate Families’ Experience of Liminality in Shanghai’, Journal of Transient Migration, 2019.

Lisa Åkesson is Professor in Social Anthropology at the Department of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. She leads several projects on the recent Portuguese migration to Angola and Mozambique, which focus on postcolonial identities, power relations and transfer of knowledge. In addition, she has carried out research on Cape Verdean migration, exploring transnational families, remittances and relationships, return migration and cultural meanings of migration. She is the author of ‘Postcolonial Portuguese Migration to Angola: Migrants or Masters?’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), and she has published in a number of journals, including Ethnos, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Global Networks and Geopolitics.