Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 

About: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Immigration & Ethnic group. It has an ISSN identifier of 1369-183X. Over the lifetime, 3792 publications have been published receiving 115563 citations. The journal is also known as: JEMS, & JEMS.

Transnationalism and identity

Abstract: Transnationalism and identity are concepts that inherently call for juxtaposition. This is so because many peoples' transnational networks of exchange and participation are grounded upon some perception of common identity; conversely, the identities of numerous individuals and groups of people are negotiated within social worlds that span more than one place. In this introductory article, the transnational perspective on migration studies is first discussed, followed by some critiques and outstanding questions. The final section summarises points raised by the contributing authors of the main articles in this themed issue of JEMS, especially with regard to various ways transnational settings and dynamics affect the construction, negotiation and reproduction of identities.

Regimes of Mobility Across the Globe

Abstract: Mobility studies emerged from a postmodern moment in which global ‘flows’ of capital, people and objects were increasingly noted and celebrated. Within this new scholarship, categories of migrancy are all seen through the same analytical lens. This article and Regimes of Mobility: Imaginaries and Relationalities of Power, the special issue of JEMS it introduces, build on, as well as critique, past and present studies of mobility. In so doing, this issue challenges conceptual orientations built on binaries of difference that have impeded analyses of the interrelationship between mobility and stasis. These include methodological nationalism, which counterpoises concepts of internal and international movement and native and foreigner, and consequently normalises stasis. Instead, the issue offers a regimes of mobility framework that addresses the relationships between mobility and immobility, localisation and transnational connection, experiences and imaginaries of migration, and rootedness and cosmopolitan o...

Immigrant entrepreneurs in advanced economies: Mixed embeddedness further explored

Abstract: This paper introduces the JEMS special issue on immigrant entrepreneurship and mixed embeddedness. The special issue has grown out of an EC-funded programme of networking research entitled 'Working on the Fringes: Immigrant Businesses, Economic Integration and Informal Practices'. Our opening paper provides a contextual overview for the case-study papers which follow. We pay particular attention to the mixed-embeddedness thesis and especially focus on the demand side of the opportunity structures framework which confronts potential immigrant entrepreneurs. We propose a three-level strategy for analysing the opportunity structure and its underlying dynamics, based on national, urban/regional and neighbourhood levels of comparison. In the nal part of the paper, we identify several possible future lines of research.

Understanding Global Migration: A Social Transformation Perspective

Abstract: This chapter examines some of the difficulties of theory formation in international migration studies and suggests adopting a social transformation perspective in response. The starting point is an examination of the dominant perception of ‘migration as a problem’. This is followed by a discussion of some key obstacles to theoretical advancement in migration studies. I argue that a general theory of migration is neither possible nor desirable, but that we can make significant progress by re-embedding migration research in a more general understanding of contemporary society, and linking it to broader theories of social change across a range of social scientific disciplines. A conceptual framework for migration studies should take social transformation as its central category, in order to facilitate understanding of the complexity, interconnectedness, variability, contexuality and multi-level mediations of migratory processes in the context of rapid global change. This would mean examining the links between social transformation and human mobility across a range of socio-spatial levels, while always seeking to understand how human agency can condition responses to structural factors. The argument is illustrated through the example of the changing dynamics of labour forces in highly developed countries.

Migration Networks and Migration Decision-Making

Abstract: Drawing on the rational choice approach and the economic sociology of migration, this article discusses the role of social networks in terms of location-specific social capital. It discusses relations between sociological and economic aspects of migration and outlines the influence of social capital on migration decision-making and chain migration processes. There have been various attempts to measure these effects through empirical migration research, and this article focuses on two such studies. The first example concerns an investigation of migration intentions among Bulgarians in the 2001 Bulgarian census. The second is return migration in the household context of Italian migrants in Germany, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. The main finding is that social capital at the place of destination has positive impacts on emigration intentions and return migration, whereas social capital at the place of residence has negative impacts on return migration.