Into the Margins

Migration and Exclusion in Southern Europe

Floya Anthias, Gabriella Lazaridis

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138326187
• eBook ISBN: 9780429832376
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sciences sociales
• Subtopic: Sociologie

First published in 1999, this insightful volume thoroughly explores the issue of migration and social exclusion in Southern Europe. It has a number of distinct approaches, including balancing academic research by including the South, reflecting on migration-related policies and a perceptive exploration of the new challenges which face the South. This accessible book will help readers to identify anomalies that lie at the heart of the European Union. On the one hand, unhindered movement of labour is allowed, yet, on the other hand, external frontiers are protected. Borders with Southern Europe allow entry by specific groups of migrants fleeing from their countries (such as the Polish and Albanians who live in Greece) and other illegal migrants. The rationale behind these processes is analysed while keeping in mind societal procedures, such as policy developments, the growth of new forms of xenophobia, exclusion and racialisation of different migrants. Coming at a time when interior ministry officials of the EU member states are pursuing a policy to cut down on third country migrants, this much-needed research sheds light on current political events.

1 Introduction: Into the Margins – Migration and Exclusion in Southern Europe

Floya Anthias and Gabriella Lazaridis

Migration is a world wide phenomenon. Transnational movements are particularly important in a global era of economic, political and social transformations. Globalisation processes have been characterised as political, economic and cultural. Globalisation has been seen as a challenge to the nation state, although also seen as generating ethnic and cultural parochialisrns and localisms, or glocalisation in Roland Robertson’s own ‘hybrid’ term (Robertson 1995).

It has been argued that the boundary of the nation state is traversed in the multiple ways identified by the movement of capital; the growing penetration over the globe of transnational financial capital; by the growth and penetration of new technologies; by the export and movement of communication modes including media forms and images; by the growth of transnational political and juridical groups (eg the EU and its potential); by growing international resistance and action groups (eg the Beijing Conference of Women); and by the penetration of ideologies producing a ‘world system’ (Wallerstein 1990) or Global Village (McLuhan 1964). One key element of globalisation theory is the identification of cultural globalisation as a core contemporary facet. Migrant groups or communities may be seen to embody the transnational principle, moving ethnic and solidary organisation from the confines of the nation state to the global arena. The nation building project of nationalism (never fully successful anywhere) of marrying the boundaries of ethnicity, the boundaries of the state and the boundaries of the nation becomes challenged. However, nation states are still with us in terms of juridical, social citizenship and cultural citizenship (Turner 1990), despite the increasing global flow of trade and communication, as well as the growth of certain forms of transnationality. The nation state still determines citizenship, in large part, entailing individual and group rights and entitlements, at political, juridical and social levels (an exception may be found with regard to the European Court of Human Rights). The borders of the nation state are still policed against undesirable others, in formal and informal ways, through migration controls and racism. The desire for the integration and management of minorities within, exists in the present phase of multiculturalism. At the same time there is a desire to exclude others, on the outside and the inside. Many nation states also stress the ethnic absolutist (to use Gilroy’s (1993) phrase) project, of retaining the ethnic identity of their diaspora populations, and encouraging their reproduction, as well as their return to the homeland.

Social exclusion is a key term today in academic and policy discussions. Social exclusion is a term that includes within it’s ambit a wide range of social relations and outcomes relating to inequality and disadvantage. At the one level, social exclusion means lack of opportunities in terms of gaining access or inclusion within a range of arenas in society that determine life chances. On the other hand, it also depicts a range of hurdles or boundaries that set out to prevent groups from enjoying full rights to citizenship in its fullest sense. Social exclusion may be organised around class, gender or ethnic groupings and there is always an intersection of all these dimensions and divisions for individuals. Migration is often accompanied by exclusion from social and political rights. However, men and women may experience this differently. In addition different categories of migrants will be placed differently in terms of a range of social relations; for example, economically and legally as well as in relation to the polity. Differential access to these is an important focus of contemporary discussions on new migration and new racism in Europe. Whilst current debates have depended on the experiences of migration and racism in Western Europe, there is an urgency with regard to turning our attention to the Southern European experience.

Southern Europe has a long history of transoceanic migration, that is migration to the so called ‘classical countries of immigration’ like the USA, Canada, Australia. It also has a long history of continental migration, that is migration to the so called ‘guest worker countries’ like Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. This came to a halt with the ‘ban on recruitment’ imposed by the receiving countries in the early 1970s due to the ‘OPEC embargo’ and the resulting economic crisis. Italy, Spain and Portugal have also long histories of colonial migration; these trends have been analysed in detail and have been intensively discussed in academic circles and in politics. In Britain, there has been a history of colonial migration, particularly from the New Commonwealth in the post-war period as well as third world migration. Economic migrants and asylum seekers have been important within these flows.

In recent years, however, a major reversal of historical patterns has developed, with the Southern European countries becoming receivers of migrants (both poor migrants and highly qualified experts) and of refugees, from non-European countries. According to Simon (1987) there were 2 million migrants in the four countries in the late 1980s, the majority of whom were clandestine or illegal migrants. For the mid-late 1990s, the number has been estimated to be around 3.5 million (King 1997: 10), 1.6 million of whom are legal migrants (King and Konjhodzic 1995: 47). The balance of legal and illegal migrants changes over time according to the pattern of arrivals, deportations and regularisations.

This quantitative growth has increased the urgency for addressing the topic because of the possible legal, social and political responses and consequences involved. The initial response to the phenomenon of migration was a laissez faire approach. The absence of a strategy for the development of a coherent migration policy resulted in a number of ad hoc measures. Gradually however, more rigorous controls were introduced. These were mainly the result of pressures from the Schengen partners to impose barriers on non-EU nationals seeking entry to EU member states, but also because of various internal social and political pressures to exclude non-EU nationals; the latter include xenophobia, ethnocentrism and racism. These are often couched in terms of fear of racist extremism (den Boer 1995) and of xenophobic violence ‘as reactions against a growing number of immigrants (non-EU citizens)’ (ibid:97). There have been a range of demonstrations, political debates, police powers and actions, press releases about the ‘enemies within’ in Southern European countries. Some of these countries have introduced regularisation processes which have not been fully successful in as much as many migrants have not been legalised. In addition, employers have continued to use clandestine workers, offering them no social security, job contract or decent wages.

Southern European countries may function today as the ‘entrance hall’ to the EU, and often serve as a ‘waiting room’ for many migrants who have as a destination the Northern EU countries. Moreover, there are EU nationals who migrate – both economically active people and those who have retired from full-time employment. As EU citizens they have a privileged status compared to Third-country migrants.

There are a plethora of reasons for the rapid development of migration into Southern Europe. Long coastlines, numerous islands and long mountainous borders make the clandestine entry of migrants, with the assistance of well organised smugglers, possible. In addition, many enter these countries legally as tourists, or as workers in the shipping industry and overstay, whereas others enter Southern Europe as asylum seekers. Some of these have the aim of moving on to the traditional countries of immigration in Northern Europe. The specific nature of Southern European economies yields a high demand for a flexible labour force in agriculture (harvesting of tomatoes, grapes, oranges, olives, etc.), tourism and catering, construction industries (confined to men), street hawking and domestic service (a female preserve). A large informal sector means that there is demand for migrant workers in certain low-paid, precarious jobs which are unattractive to locals. Finally there are historical reasons related to colonialism which account for migration from ex-colonial societies into the metropolitan centres.

The growth of immigration has run parallel with the trend to the flexibilisation and casualisation of Southern European labour markets. The crisis of large-scale industry affected mainly Northern European economies in the 1970s and 1980s. This was also echoed in Southern European countries, especially Italy, where it has led to a fragmentation of economic activity and the development of smaller-scale flexible units. Some of these form part of the hidden economy, and have come to rely partly on migrant workers. Side by side with these ‘structural’ jobs in the hidden economy are those which arise when agricultural and tourist activities are at their height, and call on seasonal foreign labour during peak periods.

One recurrent theme in much of the literature on migration relates to the ways in which ‘race’ and racism may be conceptualised as particular forms of social exclusion. Recent writing on ‘race’ and racism (eg Miles 1993, Goldberg 1993, Anthias and Yuval Davis 1993) indicates the importance of ethnic and nationalist discourses and practices. For example, the idea of a new racism (Barker 1981) embodies a shift in the central organising elements of racist discourse away from explicit biological notions to culturalist or nationalist ones. The argument is that much racist discourse is now couched in terms of cultural identity and national boundaries instead of relying on the idea of the biological inferiority of groups (Barker 1981, Gilroy 1987, Miles 1989). The ‘new racism’, as it has come to be called, has been the subject of much debate (eg Miles 1989). The notion of the plurality of racisms as opposed to some unitary system of representations and practices, has now become common place (Cohen 1988, Anthias 1990 and 1992).

This raises the issue of a specific European racism. Whether this form is new or not has been variously asserted or contested (cg see Miles 1992). What is clear, however, is that new forms of migration and exclusion are giving rise to particular constellations of ethnic and race based discourses and practices at a range of different societal levels. Hence it is important to begin to delineate the parameters of these in the case of Southern Europe. Goldberg (1993) gives a subtle historicised account of the extremely fluid referents of race terms. He looks at the shifting definitions and usage of the term stating that it is

…a fluid, transforming, historically specific concept parasitic on theoretic and social discourses for the it assumes at historical moment.

Goldberg 1993: 74

There have been attempts to provide typologies of racism, such as those that are based on inegalitarianism and those on difference; the distinction between subordination as a form of inclusion and separation and exclusion or exploitation and extermination has been made. The recent work of Wieviorka (1991) distinguishes between prejudice, discrimination, disadvantage and violence. The problems with these typologies is that they tend to be a bit like shopping lists, and it is not clear how they begin and where they can end. It may be preferable to distinguish between the discourse of racisms and their systemic implications for action (Anthias 1990). We can designate ideological/discursive, practices/intersubjectivities, and outcomes as three different modes for identifying racisms.

Racisms are forms of ideology and practice that serve to inferiorise and exclude (or include in subordinate positions) all groups whose boundary is defined in terms of an ethnic or collective origin (Anthias 1992). The boundary does not have to be a racialised one in order for racist exclusions to operate therefore. Racism can be regarded as the most extreme form of the exclusionary face of ethnic phenomena (which can also involve practices of extermination, repatriation, exploitation, slavery as well as racial harassment and unequal social rights and denial of access to resources of different types). Other forms of the exclusionary face of ethnic phenomena are to be found in ethnocentrism (the belief in the naturalness or taken for granted superiority of the ways of being of the ethnic group) and xenophobia or the dislike of outsiders. This becomes racist when the group has power to exclude (Anthias 1992). These are probably the most common forms that racism takes in the context of new migrations in Southern Europe.

Policy makers and activists, dedicated to fighting racism in the 1990s, need to be aware of the dynamic and shifting nature of the terrain of racism and how ethnicity may be used in both the pursuit of racism and its attack. The static and reified notions of difference embodied in much multiculturalist policy in Western Europe, from education to support and funding of the voluntary sector, need to be abandoned. Attention must be paid to the complexities involved. The European framework highlights these complexities further by providing different instances of ethnic and racist practices. This book goes some way to showing the many different forms of ‘otherness’ implicated in the social relations of migration in Southern Europe.

The ways in which the social relation relating to migration and racism will develop in Southern Europe is difficult to predict. Much will depend on the evolution of migration and related policies in the region and within the EU. Policies towards regularisation are still in an embryonic stage, but as more and more migrants become regularised, their readiness to accept working conditions unacceptable to local citizens will diminish. At the same time, pressures from within and from the EU may push Southern European countries to move to a stricter regime of control against migration. Much will also depend on economic and broader ideological factors as well as to the climate around ‘nationalist’

This volume brings together a number of papers which provide a general overview of migration and social exclusion in some of the countries of Southern Europe. The articles collected address the phenomenon of migration in Italy, Spain, Greece and Cyprus. This collection arose out of a concern that the specificities of Southern Europe were neglected in the increasing volume of published literature in the field of migration studies. The aims of this book are multiple: first, to address the gap in the literature; second, to correct an academic agenda, which is preoccupied with the North and more recently the East; and finally, to alert us to new challenges facing the South. The book does not purport to provide a much needed analysis of the highly differentiated and gendered nature of migration. Such an enterprise would require the deployment of data and research which specifically looks at gender and other differences. Gender and migration is a theme that we address in a sister volume currently being prepared and which will be published by Berg in the near future.

The timing of the book is opportune both for the Southern countries and for the EU since it comes at a time when the South faces a massive influx of migrant labour both from the Eastern and Central European countries, from non-EU member states bordering the Mediterranean, from Africa and the Far East. The construction of marginalised ‘others’, the growth of new forms of xenophobia, different degrees of exclusion and the racialisation of different categories of migrants, all receive attention by the papers in this volume. These have important implications for both different groups of migrants and for the citizens of the receiving countries. The chapters in this volume address some of the themes related to exclusion, racism, stereotyping, labour market disadvantages and other forms of differential access to social and economic benefits.

Ann Singleton and Paolo Barbesino look at how methods of collection and analysis of data produces migration as an object of study and as a body of knowledge. They link this process more broadly to the question of how social knowledge is produced by the social sciences, and how this relates to the knowledge produced by public administrative bodies. The argument is that social science discourses have strengthened the selection of concepts and definitions used in the administrative processes and structures which produce statistical knowledge. They argue that there is a need to understand the study of international migration in Europe within this context. Given that many of the papers in this volume rely heavily on statistical information, this chapter is a reminder of the social construction of this knowledge. Singleton and Barbesino argue that data availability has driven much of the theoretical work in the field of migration studies. They link issues of migration to the hegemony of the nation state form within which population categories are the object of governance. Discourses on migration are shaped by policy makers, social scientists and public opinion and therefore it is problematic to work with a notion of ‘objective facts’ about migration. They particularly note the problem of undocumented migration in this context. They use the special case of the Italian statistical system in order to exemplify their argument.

Daly and Barot examine Tunisian migration to Italy between 1980 and 1990. The Tunisian community constitutes one of the largest migrant groups in Italy. The authors try to explore the factors that drew Tunisians to Italy, looking at economic and political changes in both countries. The paper also looks at economic stagnation and political instability in Tunisia in the late 1970s. Geographic proximity and the historical links between the two countries, the flow of information and the promotion of a consumerist culture amongst Tunisian families induced Tunisians to think that Italy was a ‘paradise’. The open door policy of the Italian government until the mid- 1980s also fostered in-migration. The authors look at the settlement of Tunisians in the Italian economy and the integration of Tunisians within Italian society. They argue that the regularisation processes in Italy led to ‘a high level of mobilisation of Tunisians’ who ‘freed from the iron grip of the black economy of the South … took advantage of the economic opportunities offered by the small and medium enterprises in the centre-north’. The authors also look at issues of r...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: Into the Margins – Migration and Exclusion in Southern Europe
• 2 The Production and Reproduction of Knowledge on International Migration in Europe: The Social Embeddedness of Social Knowledge
• 3 Economic Migration and Social Exclusion: The Case of Tunisians in Italy in the 1980s and 1990s
• 4 Recent Immigration to Spain: The Case of Moroccans in Catalonia
• 5 British Expatriates’ Experience of Health and Social Services on the Costa del Sol
• 6 The Helots of the New Millennium: Ethnic-Greek Albanians and ‘Other’ Albanians in Greece
• 7 The Presence of the Polish Undocumented in Greece in the Perspective of European Unification
• 8 Racism and New Migration to Cyprus: The Racialisation of Migrant Workers
• 9 European Union Citizenship: Exclusion, Inclusion and the Social Dimension
• Index