Complexity, connections and prospects of recent migration flows in the Adriatic-Ionian and Danube regions

Since the mass migration registered in 2015 along the so-called Balkan Route, the debate about migration in Europe has quickly polarized between the proponents of unconditional humanitarian solidarity towards asylum seekers and supporters of different degrees of securitization. While the arguments of the former draw on principles of humanitarianism and international law, the latter have especially presented asylum seekers and economic migrants as threats to Europe’s national identities,socialsecurity and welfare systems. Transcending the specific types of argumentation put forward by each party, the narratives surrounding migration dynamics often seem dominated by an understanding of migration that is strictly associated with the idea of lacking resources and space, both physically and figuratively, to host newcomers. Within this general understanding, the debate has developed in terms of how the reception and integration of asylum seekers can fit into existing communities without generating social tensions, often neglecting the discussion of the territorial needs to which newcomers may contribute through their skills