Cover The Immigration Conundrum
series "Voci"
pp. 176, Brossura, 978-88-15-27153-2
publication year 2017

GIUSEPPE SCIORTINO

The Immigration Conundrum

In contemporary democracies, to speak of immigration means venturing into a quagmire. Humanitarian activists, always ready to invoke principles that they know are unfeasible, and populists, as muscular in their proclamations as they are inept in practice, are fond of simple solutions. But simple solutions work only in talk shows, not in the real world. This book examines the origins of the phenomenon of immigration and explains how it has been an integral part of European history. One need only think of the major population movements that occurred after the First and Second World Wars. From the Peace of Augsburg in the heyday of 16th-century religious wars to the recent Treaties of Schengen and Dublin, it has always been necessary to deal with the inevitable tension between the right to emigrate (a fundamental human right) and the right of receiving states to decide whom to admit within their borders and on what terms. The topic continues to be marked by contradictions and mishaps. Today, above all, we must acknowledge that immigration is a structural feature of our time and that it needs to be addressed with competence and good administration skills, not on the basis of positive (or negative) emotions.

Giuseppe Sciortino teaches Sociology at the University of Trento.

Introduzione
1. I dignitari di Augusta e noi
2. La sostanziale immobilità del mondo contemporaneo
3. Stati liberali, stati autoritari
4. Il sistema dei controlli
5. Quando immigrare non era un problema
6. La prima crisi dell'asilo
7. L'Europa in movimento
8. Lo straniero come estraneo
9. Quando il problema sembrava risolto
10. Le tante vite di Antonio Galotti
11. «The Times, They Are a-Changin'»
12. La fine del libero movimento
13. I rifugiati russi e i dilemmi della protezione
14. Perché esiste una convenzione di Ginevra e non esiste una convenzione di Napoli
15. La nascita del regime internazionale dell'asilo
16. Le buone cose non durano
17. Tamil a Berlino
18. La nascita di un mostro gentile
19. La lunga gestazione di una crisi improvvisa
20. E allora? Che fare?
Nota
Riferimenti bibliografici