Recent migration in Europe has a whole range of characteristics which are said to distinguish it from earlier migration, and the description 'new migration' is often used. Based on a wide range of empirical case studies of the new migration, this book asks three critical questions. To what extent is the description 'new' conceptually valid? How is the new migration defined and by whom? How is the new migration experienced by migrants themselves?

Transnational communities are historically produced by upheaval and confrontation, creating diaspora populations in pockets away from that which has been constituted as home. But what does that mean to those who live within these changing socio-cultural circumstances, and which critical tools can be brought to bear upon such patterns of distribution? This book critically evaluates the transnational communities approach to contemporary international migration. It does so through a specific focus on the relationship between transnational communities and home. The meaning of home for...

The extensive literature relating to the African diaspora has tended to concentrate on the descendants of those who left Africa as part of the slave trade to North America. This important new book gathers together work on more recent waves of African migration from some of the most exciting thinkers on the contemporary diaspora. Concentrating particularly on the last 20 years, the contributions look to the United States and beyond to diaspora settlement in the UK and Northern Europe. New African Diasporas looks at a range of different types of diaspora - legal and illegal,...

In recent years, global migration has transformed in terms of its numbers and reach, its political significance, and its impact. The rising rates of international migration have been matched by growing public and media interest around the world. Today, the political and media attention on migration and greater public interest and concern feed into an international debate that is all too often poorly informed and one-sided.
This Very Short Introduction looks at the phenomenon of international human migration - both legal and illegal - and offers an objective stance on the topic,...

Based on a wide range of empirical case studies, this text examines how far recent migration differs from earlier movements of peoples in Europe and whether we can justifiably call it "new".