Conceptualising Syrian War Migrations: Displacements, Migrants’ Rights and the Major Reception Regimes

This article focuses on the migration of people from Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. The ambition of the article is to develop and nuance the typology of migrations of Syrians and relate the categories of international migrants to their rights, as provided by various reception regimes. The proposed typologies may help us better to understand the complexity of the migrations and the inconsistencies in reception and humanitarian standards. We argue that migration trends, reception regimes and the positioning of the Syrian refugees and migrants are highly interconnected and dynamic factors, resulting in different regular and irregular flows and migrant statuses. Furthermore, it is maintained that the management of the Syrian humanitarian and refugee crisis has revealed – and probably more so than any other, comparable event – the variety of inconsistencies in migration and protection policies and the widespread lack of will for more equitable burden-sharing.

Quality of Life Temporal Aspects in International Migration Studies

The article is devoted to revealing the scientifi c potential of temporal aspects in studying the quality of life of international migrants. Th e purpose of this paper is to initiate a scientifi c discussion on temporal indicators of population well-being and present empirical evidence of their importance in migration research. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in revealing the widespread use of temporal elements in the structure of systems for quality of life assessing, substantiation the need to use time indicators in studies of international migrants’ well-being. Th e article uses methods of system approach, analysis and synthesis, grouping, comparison. Th e study showed that contemporary approaches of the quality of life analysis abounds with time-dependent elements. However, conceptualization of temporality is absent there. Temporal indicators connected with duration and rhythm are most oft en used. Th e main empirical basis for studying the migrants’ quality of life in this article is the results of the European Social Survey (ESS). Th e reference group for comparing the migrants’ well-being in this study is local population. Th e integrated indicator of quality of life assessment, the average happiness score, is used. It shows almost identical overall values of this indicator for both population groups (the diff erence was 0.1 points on a 10-point scale). Th ere was a lack of territorial universality to identify a happier group because in half of the analyzed countries the locals were happier than newcomers whereas in the rest of the territories there was the opposite situation or the same values of the indicator. Th e average happiness scores and life satisfaction scores among migrants decrease in parallel with the increase in length of stay in the destination country. A separate eff ect of age and length of stay temporal characteristics on the quality of life of international migrants is established. The degree of freedom, the agency to infl uence their own lives is considered a separate temporal element of the migrants’ well-being. According to the ESS, the average value of this indicator for newcomers and locals coincides.

GLOBAL MIGRATION PROCESSES IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background. To mitigate the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to develop an effective national policy and administrative framework that will promote regulated circular labor migration while maximizing the benefits of its effective organization and strengthening measures to protect Ukrainian citizens abroad and foreign migrants in Ukraine, creating conditions for the reintegration of Ukrainian migrants. The aim of the article is to study the changes in global migration flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of providing a scientific basis for reforming national migration policy. Materials and methods. In the course of the research the methods of statistical analysis, synthesis, grouping and graphical representation of the results have been used. Results. As a result of the analysis it is determined that the main trends in population migration in the world are: the largest share of the population migrating from developing countries to developed countries; continued increase in forced migration due to conflict, harassment, violence or human rights violations; most international migrants in the world live in a small number of countries; international migration often remains within the main regions; the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the growth of international migrants and millions of people have lost their jobs and returned home during lockdowns in destination countries, where the economic downturn is also continuing and unemployment is rising. It has been proven that the most favourable conditions for migrant workers, which proved to be the most vulnerable category during the pandemic, were created by European governments. The main preconditions for mass external labor migration from Ukraine are identified: dissatisfaction of Ukrainian citizens with wages, working conditions or vacancies, lack of jobs, socio-economic crisis, decline in production, lack of identified prospects and opportunities for development and self-realization. It is substantiated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect migration flows from Ukraine – the return of citizens did not become large-scale, the amount of remittances from abroad decreased slightly. Conclusion. In the future, the COVID-19 pandemic will have a short-term impact on external labor migration from Ukraine. With the spread of the disease, the intensity of Ukrainians going to work abroad will decrease, but if the epidemic ends, the flow will resume quickly. Even if the pandemic causes a global economic crisis and the demand for workers falls, the work of Ukrainian citizens will still be in demand by European countries for economic recovery. Therefore, the state migration policy at the present stage should be aimed at expanding opportunities for Ukrainians to legally work abroad, maintaining closer contacts with those who are in other countries, as well as encouraging citizens to work in Ukraine and convincing them of the expediency of return.

China’s International Migration: Status and Characteristics

This chapter provides an overview of China’s role in global migration flows, as both one of the largest sources of international migrants and an increasingly popular destination for work, travel, or study. The chapter reviews key trends related to China’s outbound and inbound migration, including geographical distribution, citizenship and visa issues, employment, and other forms of migration. It also summarizes relevant policy and institutional developments, including the recent creation of China’s National Immigration Administration. Finally, the chapter outlines a series of measures to improve migration governance, raise global talent competitiveness, and enhance international cooperation on migration. It is proposed that China play a larger international role in this field and promote a more person-centered approach to global migration governance.

A place migrants would call home: open-ended constructions and social determinants over time among Ecuadorians in three European cities

Is there a place in particular that international migrants would call home? How do they talk about it, where does it lie, and what characteristics is it expected to have, given their demographics and patterns of settlement? Similar questions are meaningful in themselves and in illuminating migrant biographical, family and housing trajectories. We address them, in this paper, through the categorization and multinomial analysis of the responses to a dedicated open-ended question in a survey on Ecuadorians in Madrid, Milan and London (n = 1175). This original dataset allows us to explore migrant views of home against the background of their demographics and of their migration and housing conditions. We analyse respondents’ ways to articulate, spatialize and prioritize key aspects of home through a logit model, thereby assessing their association with age, length of stay, housing tenure, family networks and city of residence. Overall, their predominant construction of home points to a place in the country of settlement, but not necessarily to their own dwelling. Younger and newcomer immigrants see home as a primarily relational construct, whereas older and long-stayers emphasize its place-based and private dimension. Significant variations in the expected emplacement and bases of home can be found across cities of residence. However, no significant variations are associated either with gender or with migrants’ transnational engagement.