Migrants in Europe: From a production factor to social actors

Migration is a constant feature of the human species and has been an intrinsic characteristic of the world population to the present day. With the onset of the second industrial revolution, new technologies allowed modern means of transportation to connect the world and create a global labour market. The number of people moving across the world soared and was supported by the fact that restrictions on migrants were virtually non-existent. In the interwar period, both the United States and most Latin America and European receiving countries introduced stricter immigration laws and quotas on the number of incomers. Since then migration movements have become increasingly dependent on the laws and regulations of each single destination nation. This book examines migration from, to and within Europe incorporating a variety of perspectives and applying a multidisciplinary approach.