Foreword: a critique of Mediterranean Europe as a "migration place (original) (raw)

Abstract

Critical thinking is a broad classification for a diverse array of reasoning. In this Foreword we will underline different topics by breaking down arguments and claims, to see how these apply to a supposed model of Mediterranean Europe, in order to advance a critical understanding of the Introduction and the following chapters, identify significant commonalities, enhance connections and facilitate dialogue with the authors and their ideas. This Foreword will outline the broad contours of such critical thinking through the discussion of two topics that we have selected as the basis for a meaningful analysis in Mediterranean Europe: (1) the topic of place (which includes Mediterranean borders, an exploration of cities and the changing rural world); and (2) the topic of contemporary mobilities. FRAMING THE TOPIC OF PLACE The 7 Climates are traversed by 7 Seas of which we speak following, if it pleases God. The 7 Seas are called also Gulfs. Six are contiguous; one only is separated without communication with the others. They are; 1) the China and Indian Seas at 13 degrees latitude and to their south is the Equator; 2) the Gulf of Persia, 440 parasanges in length; 3) the Gulf of the Red Sea, 1400 miles long; 4) the Mediterranean Sea, 18 miles wide at the Detroit; 5) the Gulf of Venice, 1100 miles long; 6) the Pontus Euxine, 1300 miles from the Detroit; 7) the Caspian Sea, 1000 miles x 650 miles. (Preface to Al-Idrisi World Map, 12th Century) The idea of place corresponds to a notion inspired by cultural geography. A place is not a simple location in abstract space (Holzer, 2003), but a spatial entity with a meaning and a value that is lived, conceived and appropriated by social communities (Tuan, 1977). Places have a memory and an identity, and result from the consequential transformation and appropriation of a physical space by a community. In this sense, places have not only a socio-cultural value but also a political one. Using this notion of place as a point of departure, the first problem we face is identifying a reference point for the discussion. The debate can be launched by

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (45)

  1. Bagnasco, A. (1977). Tre Italie: la problematica territoriale dello sviluppo italiano. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  2. Beaugrand, C. and Geisser, V. (2016). The role of diasporas, migrants and exiles in the Arab revolutions and political transitions. In Ribas-Mateos, N. (ed.), Migration, Mobilities and the Arab Spring. Spaces of Refugee Flight in the Eastern Mediterranean. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 34-49.
  3. Birot, P. and Dresch, J. (1953). La Méditerranée et le Moyen-Orient, Tome 1: La Méditerranée Occidentale. Paris: PUF.
  4. Braudel, F. (1966). La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à l'époque de Philippe II. Paris: A. Colin.
  5. Braudel, Fernand (2001). Memory and the Mediterranean. Translated by Siân Reynolds. New York: Random House.
  6. Brenner, N. (2000). The urban question as a scale question: reflections on Henri Lefebvre, urban theory and the politics of scale. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 24 (2): 361-378, doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .1111/ 1468 -2427 .00234. CIA (2020). CIA World Fact Book. https:// www .cia .gov/ the -world -factbook/ Claval, P. (2007). About rural landscapes: the invention of the Mediterranean and the French school of geography. Erde, 138 (1): 7-24.
  7. Escrivà, A. (2022). Globalization and health: gender issues in temporary agricultural work (Huelva). In Ribas-Mateos, N. and Sassen, S. (eds), The Elgar Companion to Gender and Global Migration. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 324-333.
  8. Fernandes, J.A., Ferrão, J., Malheiros, J. and Chamusca, P. (2021). Geography as a social science in Portugal. In Lois-González, R.C. (ed.), Geographies of Mediterranean Europe. Cham: Springer, pp. 15-38.
  9. Ferrera, M. (2010). The South European countries. In Castles, F.G., Leibfried, S., Lewis, J., Obinger, H. and Pierson, C. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 616-629.
  10. Garofoli, G. (1992). Economia del territorio: trasformazioni economiche e sviluppo regionale. Milano: Etaslibri.
  11. Gimenez Romero, C. (1992). Trabajadores Extrangeros en la Agricultura Española: Enclaves e Implicaciones. Estudios Regionales, 141: 127-147.
  12. Hadjri, K. and Osmani, M. (2004). The spatial development and urban transformation of colonial and post-colonial Algiers. In Elsheshtaw, Y. (ed.), Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope. London: Routledge, pp. 29-55.
  13. Haesbaert, R. (2007). Território e multitterritorialidade: um debate. GEOgraphia, 9 (17): 19-45.
  14. Holzer, W. (2003). O conceito de lugar na Geografia Cultural-Humanista: uma con- tribuição para a geografía contemporânea. GEOgraphia, 5 (10): 113-123.
  15. IOM (2019). International Migration Law -Glossary of Migration. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.
  16. Jiménez, M. (2019). Externalización fronteriza en el Mediterráneo Occidental: movilidades, violencias y políticas de compasión. https:// www .researchgate .net/ publication/ 290212829 _Externalizacion _fronteriza _en _el _Mediterraneo _Occidental _movilidades _violencias _y _politicas _de _compasion (retrieved on 2 March 2019).
  17. Kasimis, C. (2008). Survival and expansion: migrants in Greek rural regions. Population Space and Place, 14 (6): 511-524, doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .1002/ psp .513.
  18. King, R. (2000). Southern Europe in the changing global map of migration. In King, R. and Charalambos Tsardanidis, G. (eds), Eldorado or Fortress? Migration in Southern Europe. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-26.
  19. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Lenine, V.I. (1916/1984). O Imperialismo, Fase Superior do Capitalismo (tomo 2 das Obras Escolhidas). Lisboa: Edições Avante
  20. Lois-González, R.C. (2021), The current legacy of geographies in Mediterranean Europe. In Lois-González, R.C. (ed.), Geographies of Mediterranean Europe. Cham: Springer, pp. 1-14.
  21. Marron, R. (2016). Introduction: on the humanitarian cause. In Marron, R. (ed.), Humanitarian Rackets and their Moral Hazards: The Case of the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon. Abingdon, UK and New York, USA: Routledge, pp. 1-29.
  22. Mezzadra, S. and Neilson, B. (2013). Fabrica mundi: producing the world by drawing borders. In Blackwell A. and Lee, C. (eds), Scapegoat: Architecture, Landscape, Political Economy, Currency, 4: 3-19.
  23. Modelski, G. (1978). The long cycle of global politics and the nation-state. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 20 (2): 214-235.
  24. Moreno, L., del Pino, E., Mari-Klose, P. and Moreno-Fuentes, F.J. (2014). Los siste- mas de bienestar europeos tras la crisis económica. Colección Estudios no. 3 Serie Análisis Área Políticas Sociales. Madrid.
  25. Paniza Cabrera, A., Cancer Pomar, L., Garcia Martinez, P. and Cuesta Aguilar, M.J. (2007). The Common Agricultural Policy and rural landscape changes: the example of Carcheles, Jaen, Spain. In Roca, Z., Spek, T., Terkenil, T., Pleininger, T. and Hochtl, F. (eds), European Landscapes and Lifestyles: The Mediterranean and Beyond. Lisbon: Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, pp. 277-282.
  26. Peraldi, M., Bettaieb, A. and Manry, V. (2001). L'esprit de bazar. En Mobilités transnationales maghrébines et sociétés métropolitaines: Les routes d´Istambul. In Péraldi, M. (ed.), Cabas et containers. Activités marchandes informelles et réseaux migrants transfrontaliers. Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, pp. 329-381.
  27. Pereira, S., Moreno, L., Estevens, A., Esteves, A. and Malheiros, J. (2016). inmigrante: el caso de Odemira, Portugal. Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos, 81 (July- Dec): 227-250.
  28. Poguisch, T. (2018). Confini Fantasma dell'Europa. In Bellinvia, T. and Poguisch, T. (eds), Razzismo, confini, marginalità. Decolonizzare le migrazioni. Milano-Udine: Mimesis/CartografieSociale, pp. 41-60.
  29. Ribas-Mateos, N. (2015). Tanger, Maroc: La sociologe d'une ville-frontière (A Sociological Study of Tangiers, Morocco). London and New York: Mellen Press.
  30. Ribas-Mateos, N. (2017). The Mediterranean in the Age of Globalization: Migration, Welfare and Borders. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
  31. Ribas-Mateos, N. (2020). Borders and mobilities in the Middle East: emerging challenges for Syrian refugees in 'Bilad Al-Sham. In Babar, Z. (ed.), Mobility and Forced Displacement in the Middle East. London: Hurst, pp. 19-32.
  32. Ribas-Mateos, N. and Dunn, T. (eds) (2021). Handbook on Human Security, Borders and Migration. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  33. Ribas-Mateos, N. and Malheiros, J. (2002). Immigration and place in north- ern Mediterranean cities: issues for debate. In Fonseca, M.L., Malheiros, J., Ribas-Mateos, N., White, P. and Esteves, A. (eds), Immigration and Place in Mediterranean Metropolises. Lisbon: Luso-American, pp. 293-308.
  34. Ribas-Mateos, N. and Sempere Souvannavong, J.D. (2006). El negocio de la maleta en Alicante y Tánger: descifrando el circuito mediterráneo. In Beltrán, J., Oso, L. and Ribas-Mateos, N. (eds), Empresariado étnico en España. Madrid: Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales y Fundación CIDOB, pp. 289-310.
  35. Ribeiro, O. (1945/2021). Portugal, o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico. Lisboa: Letra Livre.
  36. Ribeiro, O. (1968). Mediterrâneo -Ambiente e Tradição. Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
  37. Sassen, S. (2013). When territory deborders territoriality. Territory, Politics, Governance, 1 (1): 21-45, doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .1080/ 21622671 .2013 .769895.
  38. Sayad, A. (2004). The Suffering of the Immigrant. Cambridge: Polity.
  39. Sheller, M.Y. and Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A, 38 (2): 207-226, doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .1068 %2Fa37268.
  40. Sivgnon, M. (2007). The Greel wetlands: from degradation to rehabilitation. In Roca, Z., Spek, T., Terkenil, T., Pleininger, T. and Hochtl, F. (eds), European Landscapes and Lifestyles: The Mediterranean and Beyond. Lisbon: Edições Universitárias Lusófonas, pp. 243-246.
  41. Stambouli, F. (1996). Tunis city in transition. Environment and Urbanization, 8 (1): 51-63, doi: https:// doi .org/ 10 .1177 % 2F09562478 9600800117.
  42. Tarrius, A. (2000). Les nouveaux cosmopolitismes. Mobilités, identités, territoires. La Tour d'Aigues: Editions de l'Aube.
  43. Tarrius, A. (2009). Intérêt et faisabilité de l'approche des territoires des circulations transnationales. In Cortès, G. and Faret, L. (eds), Les circulations transnationales: lire les turbulences migratoires contemporaines. Paris: Armand Colin, pp. 43-51.
  44. Tuan, Y-F. (1977). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
  45. Turan, N. (2010). Towards an ecological urbanism for Istanbul. In Sorensen, A. and Junichiro, O. (eds), Megacities: Urban Form, Governance, and Sustainability.