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Prior studies on Roma migration put much emphasis on either structural factors or networks that become key elements for explaining the growing migration flows of a population lacking economic resources and characterized by poor education. Although very relevant for explaining the perpetuation of migration, these studies posit the limit of downplaying migrants' agency and the role of identity markers mediating the influence of structural conditions in both destination and origin countries. Drawing on quantitative data from the Roma Inclusion Barometer (2006) as well as on in-depth interviews with Roma migrants from Eastern Romania, the paper provides a more comprehensive account of contemporary Romanian Roma migration towards Western European countries. The paper challenges the portrayal of the Roma migrant population, as conveyed by many scholars, as a rather passive one and argues that gender, religion and subgroup identities constitute key elements in explaining Roma migrants' agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the migrants' occupational integration process. Two main theoretical perspectives are tested: the first one (assimilation view) claims that in the short-run migrants are penalized, but as they settle in the receiving country they get integrated into the host society; the second one (segmented assimilation view) claims that disadvantages persist in the long-run. EU-LFS and ESS data are described and modelled, in order to compare the labour market performances of migrants in four European old-receiving countries (Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden) and in two new-receiving countries (Spain and Italy) both in a short-term and in a long-run perspective. We find that a) in the short-run, migrants' labour market condition is worst with respect to the natives; b) this gap decreases with older migrants; c) the ethnic penalty disappears with the second generation, when they achieve a level of education comparable to that of the natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International migration contributes to increasing cultural diversity in many European cities. Historically, migration studies have focused on the integration of immigrants foregrounding race/ethnicity and identity issues, limiting our understanding of intercultural diversity. A new paradigm focusing on relational patterns among groups is emerging, highlighting the importance of mutual relations, interactions and influences among residents of different origins and backgrounds, including the experience of both immigrants and autochthonous populations. The notions of superdiversity and conviviality have significantly contributed to this debate. This paper discusses how both were methodologically operationalized in multi-sited ethnographies carried out in Lisbon and Granada, during 2009–2012. Superdiversity and conviviality are the main theoretical frameworks used to understand how interculturality is lived and experienced at the local level. We reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, unpacking common assumptions about race, ethnicity and culture, specifically looking at the negotiation of difference in intercultural events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of increasing immigrant diversity is prevalent in immigration literature. However, little empirical research has examined if immigrant populations have become more diverse during the past two decades. Using data from Pew Research Center's Global Religion and Migration Database and the World Bank's Global Bilateral Migration Database, origin and religious change in immigrant populations since 1990 is presented for six European countries. Findings demonstrate that immigrant origin and religious diversity has been relatively stable during the past ten years, with moderate increases during the 1990s. Further research can examine whether these patterns are true for other countries or what happens when alternative variables are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution investigates the socially conservative attitudes of newly arrived immigrants from Poland in two Western European countries, Ireland and the Netherlands, with a particular interest in the selective nature of out-migration along non-economic factors and attitude change after migration. It focuses on attitudes towards homosexuality, which remain on average less accepting amongst Polish natives than those of these two residence countries. First, we infer from comparisons between migrants and non-migrants residing in the origin country whether a selection effect of migrants with a more liberal attitude exists. We find that there is evidence for selective out-migration that remains when controlling for pre-migration characteristics. Second, using data collected shortly after arrival of immigrants and from a second wave one and a half years later in the residence country, we show whether immigrants adapt to the norms of the residence country and to what extent they maintain the dominant attitudes of the origin country. We find that attitudinal changes after migration are associated with the level of social integration in the country of residence and maintenance of religious involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Immigration and the ways in which host societies receive newcomers pose challenges for modern civil societies. This article contributes to the ongoing discussion about how ethnic diversity influences tolerance towards immigrants. Compared to previous studies, we analyse tolerance as a sequential concept in order to uncover the effects of contextual diversity on attitudes towards immigrants and the granting of certain rights to this group. Moreover, we distinguish different shares of ethnic groups based on their ethnic and cultural origins both on the independent and dependent variable. The analysis relies on a subnational survey of sixty municipalities in Switzerland, revealing that only certain ethnic groups are seen as an economic and cultural threat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

‘Diversity’ has become a key term in recent years, yet it has been criticized for being a vague concept with different and contradictory meanings. This article demonstrates that there are at least three inherent meanings of the term: (1) discerned difference attributed with positive or negative value; (2) diverting diversity providing pleasure and amusement; and (3) distracting diversity directing attention from something of greater importance. I argue that the concept of diversity can be a fruitful focus in ethnographic research, if its inherent multiplex and duplicitous character is recognized and actively employed. This is shown through an analysis of the ways in which immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean to Denmark have been perceived and received as foreigners since the 1960s as representing different kinds of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2011, al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, was killed in Pakistan and the US president, Barack Obama, concluded a decade of global ‘war against terror’. In light of this, it seems only sensible to explore what implications the post-9/11 international developments have had on a local basis in specific national contexts. With this in mind, this article focuses on Denmark and discusses how the critical event of 9/11 motivated a security/integration response, including various pre-emptive measures that have cast the Muslim population asthe usual suspects. It will discuss how these changes have affected the everyday lives of ordinary Danish Muslims over the last ten years and changed the relationship between majorities and minorities. Finally, it will also examine how and why recent national and international events have created the potential for another shift in majority–minority relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over the past two decades, all European societies have experienced continued and increasing migrations, albeit with very different intensities and characteristics. Our focus is on new immigrants - those who have come from abroad in the past 15 years - in both old and new receiving West European countries. Comparative analyses on this issue are rather weak as the literature on immigrant integration in the labour market is well-established in the old receiving countries, but is just beginning to be developed in the newer receiving ones. The article aims at introducing the articles collected in this special issue, which present the results of a research project that concerns six European countries - Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Our focus is on inequalities between immigrants and natives with respect to the risk of unemployment and to the access to highly qualified occupations. After having highlighted similarities and differences across those countries, we tried to draw some general conclusions concerning the main factors that may have shaped new immigrants' incorporation into West European labour markets. In particular, the role played by the nature of immigration and by the labour demand seems to be crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the vast literature concerning extreme right parties in Western Europe by examining the effects of crime on the electoral success of these parties. Utilizing theories of issue ownership and political opportunity, this article argues that populist right parties appeal to voters who feel a sense of physical and social insecurity because of higher levels of crime. This hypothesis is tested using a data set covering 18 Western European countries between 1970 and 2005. The results indicate that populist right parties benefit from higher levels of crime as well as linking crime with higher levels of immigration. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article locates Ireland's relatively recent experience with mass immigration within a comparative West European context. It poses two questions: To what degree has Ireland become a 'normal' country of immigration? What does the Irish case reveal about the contemporary politics of migration to Western Europe? The article's main finding is that Ireland's experience with mass immigration since the 1990s appears to be following a political trajectory similar to that of the traditional immigration-receiving states, despite being separated from the latter by as many as four decades. This said, the evidence suggests that some of the policy challenges precipitated by mass immigrant settlement may be currently arriving earlier in time than previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]