Panos Hatziprokopiou

Inflow of migrants and outflow of investment: Aspects of interdependence between Greece and the Balkans

Along with the other Southern EU member-states, Greece has moved from a country of emigration to become a migrant-receiving country. The influx of migrants occurred during the 1990s, following the dramatic events in Eastern Europe and the former USSR, with the majority of immigrants being clandestine. The bulk of the immigrant population are nationals of neighbouring Balkan states, predominantly Albanians. Coinciding with the influx of immigrants from the Balkans into Greece were flows of Greek foreign direct investment, or FDI, in the opposite direction. Both phenomena are to be understood as sides of the same coin, and reflect the search for cheap labour on the part of Greek enterprises. In this article, we examine both phenomena. We present empirical material on Balkan immigrants to Greece, focusing on the demographic, housing, employment and other characteristics of the principal immigrant community in the second largest Greek city, i.e. Albanians in Thessaloniki. And we examine Greek investment to the Balkan countries, pointing out complementarities where appropriate.

Contested Chinatown: Chinese migrants’ incorporation and the urban space in London and Milan

This article discusses Chinese migrants’ incorporation in European cities and the relevance of the urban space. In particular, it focuses on the Chinatowns of London and Milan, beginning from two recent cases where their space has been contested. Alongside the different histories and contemporary patterns of Chinese migration and settlement and the varying policies and politics of immigration and integration in Britain and Italy, we bring the urban factor in our analysis. More specifically, we look at the political economy of the urban space and the role of Chinatown in the dynamics of urban restructuring in the two cities. We conclude by summarizing the key dimensions of comparison and by highlighting additional elements that are important in order to understand the multiple processes conditioning Chinese migrants’ incorporation in Europe, the peculiarities of Chinatown as a specific urban locale and the politics of contestation and protest involving immigrants in urban contexts. In that sense, the article examines different layers of explanation and builds a comparative analytical framework that goes beyond the limits of migration studies.

Negotiating Muslim identity and diversity in Greek urban spaces

Based on a recent study of indigenous and migrant Muslims in Greece, this article provides an exploration of the spatial expressions of religious identity and practice among indigenous and migrant Muslims in Athens. Through a detailed analysis of ethnographic and visual material, we investigate the ways in which Muslim communities negotiate their religious identities and belonging in a city where there is no official mosque, considering that exclusionary perceptions of Islam constitute an important element of Greek national identity. The discussion concentrates on the management of visibility of Muslim identity through public displays of religious practices. Finally, we explore the ongoing debates surrounding the building of a Central Mosque in Athens as a symbolic claim to acceptance and recognition of Muslim presence and religious diversity in the Greek capital.

Migration and the city

This brief introduction provides an overview of the theoretical grounding of the special feature (CITY, Analysis of Urban Trends, 2016, VOL. 20, NO. 1) and explains why this collection of papers constitutes a cohesive whole. It begins by situating our theme within broader debates on migration, diversity and the city. It proceeds by selectively highlighting key points, as well as omissions, in the literature on migrant entrepreneurship with respect to issues relating to space and place. The papers are then introduced.

Immigrants’ Entrepreneurship in Greece at Times of Crisis: Ambivalent Paths and the Persistence of Institutional Barriers

The entrepreneurship of immigrants in Greece is a relatively recent phenomenon, and as such so far has attracted limited academic interest. Arguably, it has expanded quite rapidly over the past two decades, and has been, partly at least, tied to the dynamics of immigrants’ settlement and incorporation and the formation of ethnic communities (Labrianidis and Hatziprokopiou 2010). Even more, the phenomenon has been more intense and particularly visible in the Greek capital, where the spread of migrant businesses gradually forms an organic part of the city landscape and the everyday experience of the urban, even in areas not characterized by large concentrations.

Living together in multi-ethnic cities: People of migrant background, their interethnic friendships and the neighbourhood

This paper explores the extent to which people of different origins, natives and migrants, come together in everyday life in Europe. Instead of looking at overall ‘perceptions’ and ‘stances’, which are context-dependent and mediated through political-ideological currents and discourses as well as broader patterns of prejudice, we focus on sustained close contacts that suggest meaningful and organic relationships. Since it is most often people of migrant background who are blamed for leading ‘parallel lives’ and ‘not integrating’, we chose to focus on them and their interethnic friendships. Moreover, we seek to understand the relevance and role of the neighbourhood context in the development of those relationships. Despite the expressive fears in public discourses about the supposed negative impact of the presence of immigrants and ethnic minorities on social cohesion, our findings indicate that close interethnic relationships are not uncommon in diverse European cities. They further highlight that the neighbourhood context plays an important role in the first years of migrants’ settlement. Relationships in the neighbourhood develop in less formal social settings and are also less demanding in terms of host-country cultural skills on the part of the migrants, thus giving the opportunity to newcomers to develop close interethnic relationships with natives. Finally, the analysis supports the positive role of diversity at the neighbourhood level in the development of interethnic friendships and stresses the importance of the neighbourhood’s socio-spatial characteristics and its location in the wider urban net.

Living together in multi-ethnic cities

This paper explores the extent to which people of different origins, natives and migrants, come together in everyday life in Europe. Instead of looking at overall ‘perceptions’ and ‘stances’, which are context-dependent and mediated through political-ideological currents and discourses as well as broader patterns of prejudice, we focus on sustained close contacts that suggest meaningful and organic relationships. Since it is most often people of migrant background who are blamed for leading ‘parallel lives’ and ‘not integrating’, we chose to focus on them and their interethnic friendships. Moreover, we seek to understand the relevance and role of the neighbourhood context in the development of those relationships. Despite the expressive fears in public discourses about the supposed negative impact of the presence of immigrants and ethnic minorities on social cohesion, our findings indicate that close interethnic relationships are not uncommon in diverse European cities. They further highlight that the neighbourhood context plays an important role in the first years of migrants’ settlement. Relationships in the neighbourhood develop in less formal social settings and are also less demanding in terms of host-country cultural skills on the part of the migrants, thus giving the opportunity to newcomers to develop close interethnic relationships with natives. Finally, the analysis supports the positive role of diversity at the neighbourhood level in the development of interethnic friendships and stresses the importance of the neighbourhood’s socio-spatial characteristics and its location in the wider urban net.

Migrant economies and everyday spaces in Athens in times of crisis

Alongside the depressing image of closed shops as visible indicators of the crisis, migrant businesses can be found in many parts of Athens and often play a vital role in local neighbourhood markets. This paper explores the socio-spatial dimensions of Athens’ emerging migrant economies. Drawing from a recent research project combining survey and ethnographic methods on three Athenian neighbourhoods, the paper examines migrant entrepreneurship at the local level and highlights the relevance of place, politics and everyday life. We argue that the spread of immigrant entrepreneurial activity in Athens not only forms an existing part of the urban landscape, but has also become an organic part of the everyday experience of life in the city.

Labour Migration and other Forms of Mobility Between Bulgaria and Greece: The Evolution of a Cross-Border Migration System

Panos Hatziprokopiou and Eugenia Markova examine the development of labour migration from Bulgaria to Greece over the past 25 years—placing it in the context of other forms of human and capital mobility in both directions. They argue that in this way the Balkan space is regaining the unified character it used to have in the Ottoman period. Greece, in particular, is also reacquiring some of the ethno-cultural diversity that used to characterize the Balkans—notwithstanding the recent popular hostility to immigration and immigrants, not only in Greece but in Europe as a whole.