Dominguez-Mujica, J. (ed.): Global Change and Human Mobility 433 B O O K R E V I E W Dominguez-Mujica, J. (ed.): Global Change and Human Mobility. Singapore, Springer, 2016. 347 p. DOI: 10.15201/hungeobull.65.4.10 Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 2016 (4) Migration has accompanied humanity since the dawn of time. Viewed in geopolitical, cultural, and ethnic terms, the world in which we live is to an enormous extent the result of migration processes and their implications. Present-day migrations, by which I mean in the period since World War II, have taken on a special character by virtue of their massive extent and dynamism, their ethno-racial and professional structure, their destination countries, and the manifold, increasingly difficult to describe and foresee consequences they give rise to. Specialists in the field of contemporary population movements argue that migration analysis should be expanded to include research into ‘human mobility’. A welcome contribution to this ongoing debate can be found in ‘Global Change and Human Mobility’, edited and published by Springer in 2016. It contains 17 chapters by various authors addressing migration issues, and presents the reader with new trends in human mobility along with new interpretations of familiar processes. After the first chapter, which is both introductory and theoretical, the remainder of the book sets out case studies on various aspects of migration. These are not related to each other and discuss an assort- ment of themes. Commendably, each chapter has an extensive theoretical preface, allowing the reader to understand the nature of the question being ad- dressed, followed by (often very interesting) empiri- cal research. Chapter 1 by Armando Montanari and Barbara Staniscia introduces the issues which form the cen- tral concern of the book. It should be noted that the authors have been very thorough in tracing the de- velopment of interest in human mobility, and how multidisciplinary studies have gained in significance. The wide range of research into population move- ments, in all its various forms, scales, practices and technologies means that the concept of human mo- bility has many ‘fathers’ (as pointed out by King, R. 2012). Today’s widely recognised and formally ‘promulgated’ mobility paradigm gained importance through the publication of John Urry’s ‘Sociology Beyond Societies: Mobilities for the Twenty-First Century’ (2000), Tim Creswell’s ‘On the Move’ (2006) and Urry’s ‘Mobilities’ (2007). According to the au- thors of Chapter 1, the contemporary approach has its roots in comparative studies carried out by the Chicago School in the 1920s. These studies resulted in the concept of the dynamism of the urban struc- ture becoming a priority in research from the 1960s onwards, which in turn contributed to the recognition of the phenomenon of human mobility as a research subject in the 1980s. In my opinion, especially worthy of note is the section of the chapter discussing studies conducted over the last 20 years from which we can see the speed of change in this area of research. This chapter will prove useful as an introduction to human mobility as an issue of multidisciplinary research, and a guide to further reading thanks to its extensive bibliography. In Chapter 2, Daniel Göler and Ziga Krišjāne undertake a comparison of the migration networks formed by migrants from Albania and Latvia. The authors point out that these networks may respond differently to events of global importance, such as economic crises, therefore in addition to studying phenomena in a transnational dimension, it is also necessary to look at ‘diverse regional characteris- 434 Book Review – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (4) 433–446. tics’. In this chapter the authors propose the use of transregionalism as a new conceptual framework, which seems very interesting especially in the con- text of comparative research in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the choice of case studies is a little surprising. On the one hand, it may be commended as original, but on the other hand, given the diverse history and scale of migration it is somewhat risky. In this light, it would seem appropriate that the ap- plicability of the proposed research framework be tested with further case studies. In Chapter 3, Dirk Godenau and Ana López-Sala examine the problems of unregulated migration and the subject of border control. They attempt to find points of contact between migration and border stud- ies, and as background to their analysis they select ini- tiatives being undertaken along the southern border of Europe. This aspect of their contribution is extremely important today, when divisions over migration policy have taken on new significance in the face of the refu- gee crisis in Europe, and have exposed the lack of a common approach to matters of border security. Chapter 4 also addresses the issue of unregulated migration, but from the point of view of the situation of women. Sinehlanhla Memela and Brij Maharaj present an emotive description of the situation of female refugees and a critical assessment of the ef- fectiveness of previously conceived policy towards them. The chapter is a kind of ‘manifesto’ which emphasises the double discrimination of the women concerned (because of their gender, but also due to political persecution), and puts forward recommen- dations for improving their lot. Chapters 5 to 9 discuss migration and integration issues from various research perspectives. In Chapter 5, Victor Armony deals with immigration policy and the integration model developed in Canada. Although Canada is seen as an almost perfect model country in terms of integration, the author draws attention to the tensions which exist between the Francophone-dominated province of Quebec and the rest of the country inhabited by an English-speaking majority. He highlights the ongoing struggle between advocates of the multiculturalist and interculturalist models, which is also the reason for the existence of two competing approaches to the integration of new- comers to Canada. The next chapter takes us to South America, where Susana María Sassone analyses the role of migrants as actors and agents of the spatial transformation of contemporary Argentine cities. The author’s study of immigrant communities in the towns and cities of Argentina points to a “new profile of the postmodern migrant” (p. 98), who reacts variously to globalisation and creates neighbourhoods in a specific manner – on the basis of transnational relationships. In Chapter 7, Yann Richard, Mathilde Maurel and William Berthomière analyse the relationship between integration and migrant associations in France. The au- thors examine four immigrant communities (Algerian, Portuguese, Turkish and Vietnamese) and ask whether there is a connection between the distribution and den- sity of existing organisations and the degree of migrant integration, and whether membership in those organi- sations makes easier for migrants to integrate or not. This issue is extremely important from the point of view of integration policy, and therefore the authors are to be commended for seeking to identify the sub- ject. It is a pity, however, that when the authors come to draw conclusions they leave the questions posed at the outset with no clear answer. Chapter 8 introduces us to the issue of the integration of the Thai community. The authors, Daniel Šnajdr and Dušan Drbohlav, focus on strategies adopted by Thai migrants in the Czech Republic, drawing comparisons with four models of migration and integration used by this community (in the US, Germany, the UK and Scandinavia). The chapter also addresses the important contemporary issue of marriage migration, which in recent years is becoming the domain of women from the poorer regions of Southeast Asia. Chapter 9 takes us into the world of emotions and expectations. Anna Irimiás and Gábor Michalkó pre- sent the results of research into Hungarians who have migrated to the UK. These highlight the significance of the individual expectations of migrants concern- ing the receiving country at different stages of the migration process, and migrants’ adaptive capac- ity. An extremely interesting aspect of the chapter is the authors’ description of post-accession migration from Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on the specificity of the behaviour of Hungarian migrants. They point out that Hungary has traditionally had a ‘sedentarist’ population for whom labour migration is a new phenomenon. Chapter 10 addresses the question of illegal im- migration from the point of view of the role of social initiatives in the United States attempting to mitigate problems associated with this phenomenon which has aroused such conflicting emotions. Miguel Glatzer and Tara Carr-Lemke focus on a case study dealing with the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia. They show how this organisation is attempting both to assist irregular migrants to comply with relevant laws, and to change negative public attitudes. Chapters 11 to 14 relate to the migration of young people. Chapters 11 and 12 focus in particular on the migration behaviours of Spanish youth. In the first of the pair, Josefina Domínguez-Mujica, Ramón Díaz- Hernández and Juan Parreño-Castellano present the general characteristics of the emigration of young people from Spain during the last economic crisis, while in the second, Birgit Glorius describes migra- tion to Germany. In both cases, the authors emphasise that contemporary migrations of young people have little in common with past labour migrations and 435Book Review – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (4) 433–446. should be treated as a new form of population move- ment. Today’s young migrants are very consciously using their transnational connections to make migra- tion processes more flexible, and are adept at devel- oping different adaptation strategies in the face of changing circumstances. In Chapter 13, Cristóbal Mendoza and Anna Ortiz examine the academic careers and life transitions of foreign PhD students in Barcelona. Then, in Chapter 14, Maria Lucinda Fonseca, Sónia Pereira and Juliana Chatti Iorio describe the migration of Brazilian stu- dents to Portugal. Both these chapters illustrate the very important role played by educational institu- tions in creating new migration networks, and they also highlight the existence of competition for talent between sending and receiving countries. The last three chapters also deal with issues in which there is growing interest: migration spillover into rural areas, the relationship between develop- ment and migration, and environmental migration. In Chapter 15, Birte Nienaber and Ursula Roos consider whether international migration is contributing to the development of a ‘globalized countryside’ (looking at the example of Germany), in line with the premise of Cid Aguayo (2008), that globalisation processes take place in all aspects of life, even in small settlements. Although the authors do not definitively conclude that we can in fact speak of a ‘globalized countryside’, this chapter deserves attention because it describes the important contemporary phenomenon of migra- tion spillover, which is increasingly affecting small towns and rural areas where high migration levels had previously not been experienced. This is a new challenge for integration policy. Chapter 16, by Ioan Ianos, discusses internal and external migration in Romania with particular attention to the correlation between migration and economic development. The impact of the EU’s flexible mobility environment on migration patterns is also emphasised. The last chapter, written by Judith Medina do Nascimento, Claudio Moreno-Medina, Alexandre N. Rodrigues and Herculano Dinis links two issues: environmental migration and risk management. The migration strat- egies of local inhabitants and the question of their home area attachment are analysed as a challenge to the borders of volcanic areas at risk. The popularity of population mobility issues has led to the appearance of many related publications. It is extremely difficult to produce a book on this sub- ject which contains original material and thus serves to complement existing studies. ‘Global Change and Human Mobility’ has to a large degree been able to achieve this. The book’s authors in the main present fresh subject matter and analysis, unfamiliar to a wider audience. Although the level and depth of the content varies, it is noteworthy that in most of the chapters we find a well researched introduction to the given topic, often providing a critical (which I consider a positive trait) evaluation of existing theo- retical assumptions. It should be noted, however, that the book focuses on Europe and the Americas, and does not give examples from other parts of the world. The lack of attention given to Asian migration (with the welcome exception of Chapter 8) is particularly regrettable as this is a process which is currently in dynamic transition. According to Hannam, K. et al. (2006, pp. 9–10), today the area of research into mobility encompass- es: “studies of corporeal movement, transportation and communication, capitalist spatial restructuring, migration and immigration, citizenship and trans- nationalism, and tourism and travel”. This goes far beyond the traditional understanding of migration studies which dominated until recently. From this perspective, I feel that the book could have included a case study on tourism and travel as very significant elements of human mobility. An undoubted strength of the book is the fact that most of its chapters relate to countries where migra- tion transition is taking place, in varying forms. I was particularly interested in the chapters dealing with migration in Central and Eastern Europe. Studies re- lating to this area were for many years focused on analysing the situation in the receiving or sending countries, whereas today there is a very visible trend towards assuming a fluidity in relations between dif- ferent spaces. Studies show that there has been an increase in the intensity and diversity of migrations, which include almost all social groups. Very impor- tantly in my view, the diversity of contemporary mi- grations means that it is increasingly difficult to de- scribe them and foresee their likely impact. The stud- ies contained in ‘Global Change and Human Mobility’ attempt to strike a balance between the importance of global (transnational and transregional dimensions) and local factors (associated with locational character- istics). This allows the reader to look for the common characteristics of migrations, but also understand the specific nature of the migration in each case, in line with the assumption that a global process can mani- fest itself in the form of diverse local phenomena. In my opinion the book can be recommended to a wide audience, including scholars, students and all those interested in contemporary migrations. Although specialist issues are addressed, readers will be able to understand the nature of a given problem to be ana- lysed thanks to the detailed chapter introductions. As a university teacher, I believe this book will be very help- ful in working with students, as each of the chapters can be a starting point for many hours of discussion. Barbara Jaczewska1 Translated by Mark Znidericz 1 Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw. E-mail: bgibki@uw.edu.pl 436 Book Review – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 (2016) (4) 433–446. R E F E R E N C E S Aguayo, C.B.E. 2008. Global villages and rural cosmopolitanism: Exploring global ruralities. Globalizations 5. (4): 541–554. Bauman, Z. 2000. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, Polity. Cresswell, T. 2006. On the Move: Mobility in the Modern Western World. London, Routledge. Hannam, K., Sheller, M. and Urry, J. 2006. Mobilities, immobilities and moorings. Mobilities 1. (1): 1–22. King, R. 2012. Geography and migration studies: Retrospect and prospect. Population, Space and Place 18. (2): 134–153. Urry, J. 2000. Sociology Beyond Societies: Mobilities for the 21st Century. London, Routledge. Urry, J. 2007. Mobilities. Cambridge, Polity.