Public and Political Discourses of Migration

Reviews / Votes

This outstanding collection, skilfully edited with thematic clarity and analytic vision, is a major contribution to migration studies. Fusing intellectual gravitas with impressive political commitment, the book will serve as a benchmark for future analyses of the relationship between migration and the unsettling politics of representation, as well as an important and instructive resource for students new to the field. -- Tom Slater, Reader in Urban Geography, University of Edinburgh At the present moment in which migration has fully enveloped the global everyday, this book could not be more timely. The counterpoint of ethnography, discourse analysis, and critical theory draws the reader to the frontlines of the struggles to cross borders and fight racism, which increasingly form the worlds we all share with those in search of asylum and home. -- Philip V. Bohlman, Mary Werkman Distinguished Service Professor of Music and the Humanities, The University of Chicago Migration is certainly not a new phenomenon in our world. However, as this excellent volume illustrates in much detail, politics (in Europe and beyond) and related hegemonic discourses prefer constructing negative scenarios and creating fear of the 'stranger'. In-depth case-studies provide much evidence that closing borders has become more important than the acknowledgement of a diverse globalized environment. Anybody interested in these most complex developments should read this outstanding book! -- Ruth Wodak, Emeritus Distinguished Professor and Chair in Discourse Studies, Lancaster University From the perspective of social sciences in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe, an interesting feature of the book is its open and explicit positionality ... Such a transparent approach can be exemplary in a region where social scientists still too often think or at least work under the premise that objectivity is always necessary, or even desirable ... Whatever direction European migration debates and policies will be taking in the future, it is clear that the topic of refugees and migrants will need continued engagement by social scientists and others. In a climate of hardened debates, the present volume is an important a contribution. -- Peter Balogh, Institute for Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences * Hungarian Geographical Bulletin *