Suchergebnisse

Through recent ethnographic study of European international migration, a new type of temporary migrant has been identified that has been important historically: artisan entrepreneurs. The description of four such Italian groups to the Netherlands (chimney sweeps, mosaic workers, makers of plaster figures and ice-cream vendors) demonstrates how the demands of their trades have shaped their social histories.

Comparative studies of migration into Western Europe and of the expression of racism within the various countries of Western Europe have become increasingly common. These can be divided into three relatively distinct categories on the basis of their intentions and objectives. However, they all share the weakness of being unable to explain both the commonality and the specificity of migration flows and the political and ideological character of the reaction to these migrations. Hence, they highlight the need for an alternative methodology and theoretical framework for such comparative analysis.

Comparative studies of post-1945 migration into Western Europe, and of the political and ideological responses to migration, have become increasingly common. While these studies demonstrate a number of common processes, their particular mode of expression can differ substantially from one country to another. This requires the development of a theoretical framework which is formulated at a level of generality which can encompass the historical specificity of, and variation between, particular instances, yet which permits a general explanation which is sensitive to that specificity and variation. The framework offered in this paper proposes a comparative analysis of the migration of four analytically distinct categories of person which highlights the role of the state in the reproduction of the imagined community of nation. That role is carried out in the context of a more general process of the regulation of scarcity, in the course of which people are simultaneously included in and excluded from the hierarchy of economic, political and ideological positions in the nation-state. Of special interest is the content of the processes of signification and categorisation that are generated in the inclusionary and exclusionary processes. The countries selected for analysis are France, the Netherlands and Britain.

Nowadays organized crime is a very important political issue in Europe. However, scientific studies on the nature and seriousness of this problem are very scarce in the member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union. This national study on organized crime in the Netherlands was prepared for the Commission of Inquiry of the Dutch Parliament that recently made an investigation into the regulation and use of undercover policing. It not only contains an analysis of the contemporary manifestations of traditional organized crime, but also answers the question whether organized crime already has penetrated legitimate sectors of the economy or not. In addition special attention is paid to the role of the liberal professions and the banking system; and to the use of counter-strategies by criminal groups (corruption, intimidation, violence, disinformation, etc.)