Superdiversity

They caught me (because) I had stolen, that is a lie They caught me with four pieces of clothing 4 pantalons I don’t know the other people who were with me in the magasin

What? Post-1991 migration patterns – More countries of origin, more countries of destination – Different backgrounds, motives, patterns of mobility and residence: new ‘types’ of migrants – Impact of technologies of mobility Effects – Social, political and demographic: layering – Cultural: different ‘communities’, unpredictability of ‘features’ and ‘characteristics’ of migrants – Research: challenges to existing paradigms

Global zoning,

Stable migration flows (a) empires

(b) Organized labor migration

End 1991: (1) MORE migrants

(2) DIFFERENT migrants Netherlands, 2007

(3) More and different

(Belgium)

The emergence of refugees Migration/recruitment stop since mid-1970s – Family reunion, marriage exceptions When the gates open: only immigration channels – Asylum – Illegal immigration End of cold war: new wars – Balkans – Africa (Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Chad, Sudan, Congo, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Mali) – Middle East (Kuwait, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Kurdistan, Jemen) – Former USSR (Chechnia, Georgia, Ukraine) – North Africa (“Arab Spring”: Tunisia, Egypt, Lybia) – Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar...

Ostend (Belgium, pop. 70,000) 1990

2000

2011

“Minority-majority” cities

Types Resident “old” migrant communities – Labor migrants, small commerce – Expats, diplomats, military personnel etc. Refugees (non-EU): resident/temporary Transient migrants (non-EU): nonresident Labor “commuters” (EU): nonresident – Construction, cleaning – Truck drivers – Seasonal farm workers Foreign students: temporary Tourists: temporary

From demography to technology New migrations develop in a world of mobility, knowledge and communication – Internet, Mobile phone (°early 1990s) – Intensified physical mobility New infrastructure for mobility Enabling new forms of migrant activity – Remain active in country of origin – Translocal business and trade – Globalized churches New forms of community: networks – End of the “Chinatown” model

Pardigmatic effects ‘Ethnic minorities’ – Resident communities – Long-term migration – Clear patterns of migration (A > B) – ‘integration’ into mainstream – Cultural, linguistic, religious backgrounds known Superdiversity – Mobile people – Long and short term – Complex trajectories (A>B>A>C>B>A>D) – Low integration pressure – Backgrounds not presupposable

So... A problem of anachronisms Redescribe an unstable and fast-changing social reality Examine the effects of anachronisms on policy, justice, democracy...