Mobility from the Long Term Perspective

Abstract

Over the last few years, in various public seminars, speeches, and official accounts, one has often heard that “migration is not a new phenomenon, people have always been mobile.” The basic facts are correct. However, it is worth asking what kind of migration and mobilities we are talking about, both in the past and present. Are there any similarities or differences between people who were, and are on the move? What has motivated mobility during the past centuries, and in different regions? How has mobility affected families, loved ones, and livelihood opportunities, and the communities that migrants left behind and arrived in? Indeed, mobility also affects those who, for one reason or another, never leave their native place. Furthermore, it is relevant to examine who promoted migration, and who wanted to control it, and whether those parties had any success in these attempts. In this book, we give the reader the tools and insights to consider whether the earlier migrations have anything to do with present day migrations and Vice versa; can some of the issues related to contemporary migration be explained through historical analysis?