Migration and Freedom - Mobility, Citizenship and Exclusion (Hardcover)

In this timely and important book, Professor Brad K. Blitz, a leading expert on post-conflict integration, statelessness, migration, development and human rights, reminds us how the concept of freedom of movement, and its relationship to migration, has received little comprehensive treatment among academics, even though it underpins what we expect as individuals living in liberal states. Yet, there are 214 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants in the world today. It is all the more paradoxical therefore that there is no guarantee of the right of freedom of movement where most migration takes place against the backdrop of both official and unofficial controls. With strong theoretical underpinnings, and drawing from a range of philosophers, both ancient and modern, Professor Blitz, examines the legal foundations for the free movement of people, before undertaking a practical critique of recent free movement experiences in Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Russia and Slovenia. This is a tour de force. A work of remarkable scholarship, prescience, and practical relevance, which deserves to be read by all on this much-neglected subject of freedom of movement.' - Satvinder Juss, King s College London, UK'An advance, both analytically and empirically, for migration studies. With a base in international law and political theory, Blitz admirably opens up the ambiguous question of freedom of movement in relation to the restrictions still imposed by national borders and sovereignty, and the difficulties migrants face turning movement into successful settlement. Focusing on Europe, and migration experiences internal and external to the EU, as well as within and across national boundaries, the book significantly challenges current immigration paradigms with a series of atypical and provocative case studies.' - Adrian Favell, Sciences Po, Paris, France Migration and Freedom is a thorough and revealing exploration of the complex relationship between mobility and citizenship in Europe. Brad Blitz draws upon European and international law, political theory, economics, history and contemporary studies of migration to provide an original account of the opportunities and challenges associated with the right to free movement in Europe and beyond. Integrating over 160 interviews with individuals in Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, the UK and Russia, this book provides a unique focus on both internal and inter-state mobility and a re-evaluation of the concept of freedom of movement. The author documents successful and unsuccessful settlement and establishment cases and records how both official and informal restrictions on individuals' mobility have effectively created new categories of citizenship and exclusion within Europe. This book is an original study aimed at academics, students and government officials interested in migration, international studies, public and social policy, and politics. Contents: 1. Migration and Freedom 2. Investigating Freedom of Movement 3. Freedom of Movement in Europe 4. Spanish Doctors in the United Kingdom 5. European Language Teachers in Italy 6. Displaced Serbs in Croatia 7. Internal Migrants in Russia 8. Discrimination and Immobility in Slovenia 9. Analysis 10. Conclusion Bibliography