Understanding the new dynamics of migration and settlement

The foregoing chapters have illustrated abundantly that international migration and integration of immigrants have become hot topics in Europe. First of all, the fact of immigration into Europe and its tendency to grow is undeniable, although the timing and size of different immigration patterns vary. There are solid indications that immigration will persist and most likely increase in the coming decades. On the demand side such indications can be found in the demographic developments in Europe with its decline of natural growth and greying population, and in labour market developments that indicate a demand in an increasing number of sectors that cannot be met by local supplies. On the supply side, people motivated by political, social or economic reasons (or all three) to leave for an expected better life elsewhere presently outnumber the demand. This migration pressure from outside will increase rather than decrease, helped by communication media and transport facilities that cover an ever wider audience and clientele in a globalising world.

However, it is not only the sheer number of people crossing borders that have brought the topics to the top of the agenda of public and political discourse and policy making. The phenomenon of migration itself has changed in a globalising world, as have the states and societies that ‘send’ and ‘receive’ immigrants and their reactions to migration. These changes have given rise to new dynamics that are not yet fully understood, let alone that adequate policy responses for the ‘management’ of these migration processes and the consequences for sending and receiving societies are within reach. International migration and integration have become contested topics and the public and political discussion is frequently phrased in analytical concepts and terminology of the past. The content of such discussions is often dominated by normative undertones, even to the extent that empirical evidence is disregarded. In the European case it is particularly the mismatch between the traditional norm of not being immigrant societies and the facts of a continuously increasing proportion of the resident population being of immigrant origin that creates ambivalences in perceptions and policies. Therefore there is an urgent need for research to feed the public and political discourse on migration and settlement with both analytical insights and concomitant empirical data.