Maurizio Ambrosini

Bio: Maurizio Ambrosini is an academic researcher from University of Milan. The author has contributed to research in topics: Immigration & Civil society. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 132 publications receiving 1695 citations.

‘We are against a multi-ethnic society’: policies of exclusion at the urban level in Italy

Abstract: Local policies for immigrants in recent years have attracted a growing interest among scholars. It is increasingly accepted that they are distinct units of analysis in the governance of migration, with significant degrees of autonomy with regard to national policies. Most of the literature, however, deals with the inclusive role of local policies. The argument of this article, on the contrary, is the development of local policies aimed to exclude migrants from various kinds of benefits and rights. It is based on a pilot research, conducted in Lombardy (northern Italy), on seventy cases, referred to forty-seven different local authorities. Then, the outcome of these policies is analysed: the exclusion of migrants is a tool to seek political consent, but is also a battlefield, where anti-discrimination institutions, advocacy groups and courts react against the measures approved by local authorities.

Irregular Immigration Control in Italy and Greece: Strong Fencing and Weak Gate-keeping serving the Labour Market

Abstract: Italy and Greece have been often blamed by their fellow EU Member States for the excessive permeability of their borders, their inability to stop irregular migration, and their inefficient asylum systems. In addition the two countries have weak internal controls, especially as regards the sectors of the labour market where immigrants are usually employed e.g. agriculture, domestic work, tourism and catering. This article seeks to make sense of these fundamentally contradictory policies that characterise Greece’s and Italy’s approach to managing migration. The article starts by outlining the common features of Italian and Greek immigration policies and proposes an analysis of immigration control regimes along two dimensions: their internal (within the country’s territory) or external (at the border or outside the border) character, and their fencing (stopping) vs. gate-keeping (preventing) nature. Section 3 discusses critically the irregular migration inflows in Greece, the policies implemented to address them and their contradictory results. Section 4 reviews the related policies in Italy and casts light to their inconsistencies. In the concluding section, we highlight the possible explanations for these two countries’ lack of direction in immigration management pointing to the opposition between excessively regulated labour markets, large informal economies and strict border controls which however become lax and ineffective once irregular migrants or asylum seekers are within the country.

Immigration in Italy: between economic acceptance and political rejection

Abstract: Italy, especially in its richer regions and cities, is experiencing a profound contradiction in its relationship with the immigrant component of its population: it is becoming even more multi-ethnic in terms of the number of residents (5.3 million), participation in the labor market (more than 3 million), transitions to self-employment (213,000 business owners), and immigrant students in schools (about 670,000). In their cultural representations, Italians tend to deny this reality. They do not want multi-ethnic cities. Faced with the widespread use of a workforce of regular and irregular immigrants, in families and enterprises of the urban economy, the prevailing opinion rejects the idea of giving a place to immigration in the nation’s social organization, and this position is strengthened by political forces and media that reflect and exacerbate the reaction. Immigrants seem to be accepted, perhaps, on an individual plane, where they have a name and a definite place in society—helpful, modest, possibly invisible. They are frightening when they become visible communities, when they settle in urban settings, when they look for places and opportunities for socialization. Italian society, as a result of tensions between markets, politics, and culture on the issue of immigration, is facing a dilemma: how to reconcile interests and feelings, head and heart, individuals and communities: how to rebuild sufficient social cohesion in a society that is increasingly differentiated and heterogeneous.

Irregular Migration and Invisible Welfare

Abstract: 1. Introduction: Irregular Immigration Between Political Rejection and Practical Tolerance 2. Reasons and Dynamics of Irregular Immigration 3. Families in Trouble and Demand for Care Services: The Formation of an Invisible Welfare and the Contribution of Migrants 4. Surviving Underground: Resources and Practices of Irregular Migrants in the Care Sector 5. Across Borders: Care Work and Family Life 6. Conclusion: As the Dreaded Illegal Immigrants Become Deserving Care-Workers

Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany.

Abstract: Preface Introduction: Traditions of Nationhood in France and Germany I. The Institution of Citizenship 1. Citizenship as Social Closure 2. The French Revolution and the Invention of National Citizenship 3. State, State-System, and Citizenship in Germany II. Defining The Citizenry: The Bounds of Belonging 4. Citizenship and Naturalization in France and Germany 5. Migrants into Citizens: The Crystallization of Jus Soli in Late-Nineteenth-Century France 6. The Citizenry as Community of Descent: The Nationalization of Citizenship in Wilhelmine Germany 7. \"Etre Francais, Cela se Merite\": Immigration and the Politics of Citizenship in France in the 1980s 8. Continuities in the German Politics of Citizenship Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Health in Europe 5 Migration and health in an increasingly diverse Europe

Abstract: The share of migrants in European populations is substantial and growing, despite a slowdown in immigration after the global economic crisis. This paper describes key aspects of migration and health in Europe, including the scale of international migration, available data for migrant health, barriers to accessing health services, ways of improving health service provision to migrants, and migrant health policies that have been adopted across Europe. Improvement of migrant health and provision of access for migrants to appropriate health services is not without challenges, but knowledge about what steps need to be taken to achieve these aims is increasing.

Immigrants, Markets, and States: The Political Economy of Postwar Europe.

Abstract: PART 1: THE LIBERAL PARADOX 1. Regulating Immigration in the Liberal Policy 2. The Political Economy of International Migration PART 2: IMMIGRATION IN POSTWAR EUROPE 3. Guestworkers and the Politics of Growth 4. Foreigners and the Politics of Recession PART 3: POLICES AND MARKETS 5. Immigration Policy and Labor 6. Immigration and the French State 7. Immigration and Industrial Policy in France PART 4: MARKETS AND RIGHTS IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES 8. Citizenship and Rights 9. Immigration and the Principles of Liberal Democracy Selected Bibliography Notes Index