ABSTRACT

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.

chapter 1|18 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|20 pages

Hybridity and hegemony

The integration of Portuguese migrants in Luanda and Maputo

chapter 3|19 pages

Locally embedded cosmopolitans?

Young Europeans crafting their own space in Singapore and Tokyo

chapter 4|19 pages

(Dis)Integrated women

Self-Other representations in the contemporary Italian migration to Morocco

chapter 6|19 pages

When Europeans move to Morocco ‘for Love’

Navigating legislative and religious boundaries in a Muslim context

chapter 7|22 pages

Unravelling the integration paradox

The uprooting and home-making of Euro-Maghrebi minorities across racial formations

chapter 8|19 pages

Diverse encounters

European migrants’ contact zones in China