Migration Flows and Migration Crisis in Southern Europe

In this chapter, the main migration flows concerning the countries of southern Europe are examined. They are: the immigration from developed countries, the so-called ‘new emigration’, and the persistent flow of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. They receive a very different treatment in local political debates, which are dominated by the concern for ‘the crisis’, i. e. the whole range of economic, social and political changes arising from neoliberal globalization. While discussing the current literature on these topics, we will try to show how these flows are politically constructed for the purposes of the establishment. At the same time, we will try to highlight the relationships between these trends and the general changes affecting southern European countries.