New Albanian Migration

This book examines one of Europe’s newest and most dramatic mass migrations the exodus of a significant share of the Albanian population since 1990. Drawing on a range of richly documented and rigorously researched case studies, the volume presents a detailed picture of this mass exodus and its multiple effects on Albania, the destination countries, and the migrants themselves. Amongst the topics covered are: the causes, chronology and theorisation of this emigration; the experiences of Albanian migrants in Greece, Italy and the United States; the problematic reaction of Greek society to the sudden presence of half a million Albanian immigrants; prospects for return migration and for the strategic use of remittances to stimulate Albanian economic development; and the dynamics of migration, ethnicity and identity in the GreekAlbanian border zone. Stress is also laid on the rapidly-evolving nature of Albanian migration and on its diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, class, duration and direction. This book is essential reading for scholars of European migration and for specialists in Albanian, Balkan and Mediterranean studies