Shifting Boundaries of Belonging and New Migration Dynamics in Europe and China

Both China and Europe have in recent years witnessed the emergence of new migration dynamics. In China, hundreds of millions of migrant workers help to fuel China's economic growth with their labour whislt Europe has witnessed an increase in various new forms of migration by people from within and without seeking refuge, family-reunion or work.

In all societies significantly affected by migration, governments are rushing to adjust and implement rules and institutions so as to regulate these new forms of migration. This is accompanied by strong public discourse on how to name and characterise the newcomers and how to define who is a wanted migrant and who is unwanted.

This volume systematically explores the role that boundary making plays in creating a societal understanding of current migration dynamics and, by extension, in legitimising migration regimes. By comparing recent developments in Europe and China, it reveals insights on convergent social and political practices of boundary making under divergent conditions.

Ludger Pries is Professor of Sociology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. He has previously published Cross-Border Migrant Organizations in Comparative Perspective (co-edited with Zeynep Sezgin).