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Locating Migrant Pathways of Economic Emplacement: Thinking Beyond the Ethnic Lens

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An Anthology of Migration and Social Transformation

Part of the book series: IMISCOE Research Series ((IMIS))

Abstract

This chapter reinforces the calls for scholarship that does not rely on an ethnic lens to study migrant practices, socialities and identities. It offers a concept of migrant emplacement that focuses analytical attention on the relationship among the economic, political and cultural positioning of cities within broader networks of power and the ability of migrants to forge a place for themselves within a specific locality. Using the example of Halle an der Saale in eastern Germany, but calling for comparative research, we note the synergies between urban regeneration and rebranding efforts and the emplacement of migrants in that city through locally situated and transnationally connected small businesses. Time is also shown to be a factor; that is, a welcoming ambience and opportunity structure in urban regeneration at one point can be replaced by a reduction in possibilities at a later period.

This chapter originally appeared in the Ethnicities , 13(4), 494–514, 2013.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In the literature on entrepreneurs people of migrant backgrounds are referred to as immigrants. This causes difficulties since many others without permission to legally remain are also important actors in city -making processes. We use the term ‘migrant’ to refer to all those who cross international borders. We also recognize that this usage is highly problematic since it renders invisible and unproblematic the mobility of all those who move within the nation state .

  2. 2.

    The use of the phrase ‘unsung heroes’ by CLIP responds to and reinforces this description of migrant businesspeople by Business Week in 2000 (see Business Week 2000).

  3. 3.

    Without comparative material from other cities it is not possible to specify the various factors within local processes of incorporation and transnational connection (Glick Schiller and Çağlar 2009, 2011b).

  4. 4.

    Estimates of Halle’s shrinkage are complicated by the fact that after unification the city of Halle incorporated nearby Halle-Neustadt.

  5. 5.

    The statistics in Halle did not record people from the former Soviet Union who either claimed German ancestry or who were Jewish (and migrated under a special immigration provision) as ‘foreigners’. It also did not count asylum seekers or the undocumented. Consequently, the 4 % figure is an estimate based on taking these other migrant streams into consideration.

  6. 6.

    These are pre-accession numbers, and those from the EU were primarily from Italy and Greece. Bosnians and Poles were among the non-EU migrants.

  7. 7.

    In point of fact, unlike many of its neighbouring cities , Halle also had a vibrant antiracist music scene and a coalition of mainstream organizations committed to standing up to racism .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Anthropology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Nina Glick Schiller

  2. Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Ayşe Çağlar

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  1. Nina Glick Schiller
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  2. Ayşe Çağlar
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Correspondence to Nina Glick Schiller .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

    Anna Amelina

  2. University of Education of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Kenneth Horvath

  3. Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Bruno Meeus

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Schiller, N.G., Çağlar, A. (2016). Locating Migrant Pathways of Economic Emplacement: Thinking Beyond the Ethnic Lens. In: Amelina, A., Horvath, K., Meeus, B. (eds) An Anthology of Migration and Social Transformation. IMISCOE Research Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23666-7_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23666-7_20

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23666-7

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