Local Migration Governance in European Shrinking Areas

A German and an Italian Case

Bibliographic Data

ID7852522
AuthorsJosé Ricardo Martins (0000-0002-4908-5899, Utrecht University, corresponding author), Chiara Davino (0000-0002-8958-0042, University of Bologna)
Year2023
Volume24
IssueS5
Pages863-888
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l integration et de la migration internationale (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1488-3473 • E-ISSN: 1874-6365
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s12134-023-01029-5
OpenAlexW4360976179
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited42

Governance represents the dynamics related to a society more densely integrated into flows and not one-dimensional hierarchy relations and embodies a more cooperative mode where state and non-state actors participate in mixed public/private networks. This research explores innovative perspectives in local governance, based on two case studies in rural, shrinking areas in Germany and Italy in quest of revitalisation and the emplacement of asylum seekers and refugees in their territories. Based on empirical situations inherent in the category of “shrinking areas,” the article aims to bring out points of tangency, useful for providing recommendations and future research directions that can relate local territorial realities, united by similar processes, belonging to a larger European scale. Methodologically, this is qualitative research, based on literature and document review, interviews with key actors, group discussion, and observant participation. We conclude that although the German and Italian realities are quite diverse in terms of their shrinking trajectory, the present challenges for the emplacement of migrants are similar, such as housing and employment hardship, and that governance follows diverse parameters: while in Germany, it is more structured and coordinated, with a clear distribution of roles (civil society actors follow the leadership of the political actors), in the Italian case, the leadership is sometimes contested mainly due to political instability at the national level and the consequent effects on the reception system, which is reduced in its operation

Civil society · Comparative case · Corporate governance · Economic geography · Economics · European union · Geography · German · Hierarchy · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Resizing · Sociology · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Public Administration · Urban Planning and Governance · Urbanization and City Planning