Europeanisation, National Identities and Migration ... - europeanization

6 Migration, cultural
diversification and
Europeanisation
Krystyna Romaniszyn
Introduction
This chapter expounds a thesis coined by the author (Romaniszyn 1999a, 2000a)
holding that international migrations amplify the cultural diversity of an ‘affected’
society, be it a recipient or a sending one. The following analysis aims to supply yet
another dimension for the discussion of the process of Europeanisation highlighted
in this book. The analytical scope of the text embraces cultural changes brought
about by the international inflows in the in-migration and out-migration countries
in the areas of: work, organisation, and consumption patterns; social norms and
social status; local communities; collective and individual identities, ethnic
stereotypes, interethnic relations, and ethnic structure.
The chapter is in three main parts. It begins by outlining basic developments
regarding international inflows into Europe. Next follows the presentation and
discussion of the impact of migration on the above-specified aspects of culture 1 of
the host and sending countries. It concludes by considering dilemmas regarding
the management of cultural pluralism resulting from international inflows, and how
this relates to and influences the process of Europeanisation.
The besieged fortress of Europe
Mass international migrations have accompanied the history of Europe for the past
century. During that time the map of the receiving regions and those where the
migration pressure had been built up has changed dramatically. In the last few
decades the formative factors which have strongly influenced the migratory
movements on the European continent included a cessation of the foreign labour
recruitment programmes, the collapse of the Soviet bloc, European integration,
and the globalisation processes. The factors at work have resulted either in
generating migratory pressure – a tendency that prevails – or in counteracting it.
Generally, the response of the European Union member states to the increased
migration potential is characterised by the implementation of restrictive and
exclusionary immigration policies and the adjustment of the monitoring system in
order to protect these countries against uncontrolled immigration, and to curb
controlled immigration. These new immigration politics have very quickly been
accused of creating a ‘Fortress Europe’. The metaphor generated another one,