Routledge Expanding Boundaries: Borders, Mobilities and the Future of Europe-Africa Relations (Border Regions Series)

Product Description This book challenges the common European notions about African migration to Europe and offers a holistic understanding of the current situation in Africa. It advocates a need to rethink Africa-Europe relations and view migration and borders as a resource rather than sources of a crisis. Migrant movement from Africa is often misunderstood and misrepresented as invasion caused by displacement due to poverty, violent conflict and environmental stress. To control this movement and preserve national identities, the EU and its various member states resort to closing borders as a way of reinforcing their migration policies. This book aims to dismantle this stereotypical view of migration from Africa by sharing cutting-edge research from the leading scholars in Africa and Europe. It refutes the flawed narratives that position Africa as a threat to the European societies, their economies and security, and encourages a nuanced understanding of the root causes as well as the socioeconomic factors that guide the migrants’ decision-making. With chapters written in a concise style, this book brings together the migration and border studies in an innovative way to delve into the broader societal impacts of both. It also serves to de-silence the African voices in order to offer fresh insights on African migration – a discourse dominated hitherto by the European perspective. This book constitutes a valuable resource for research scholars and students of Border Studies, Migration Studies, Conflict and Security Studies, and Development Studies seeking specialisation in these areas. Written in an accessible style, it will also appeal to a more general public interested in gaining a fuller perspective on the African reality. About the Author Jussi P. Laine is an associate professor of multidisciplinary border studies at the University of Eastern Finland and holds the title of Docent of Human Geography from the University of Oulu, Finland. Currently, he also serves as the President of the Association for Borderlands Studies. Inocent Moyo is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa. His research interests include migration and development, migration politics, cross-border trade, regional integration in the Southern African Development Community, borders and urban informality and governance. Christopher Changwe Nshimbi is Director and a Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of Pretoria. His current research focuses on migration, borders, regional integration, the informal economy, and water resources management.