Immigration and the Transformation of Europe

A new kind of historic transformation is underway in twenty-first-century Europe. Twentieth-century Europeans were no strangers to social, economic and political change, but their major challenges focused mainly on the intra-European construction of stable, prosperous, capitalist democracies. Today, by contrast, one of the major challenges is flows across borders – and particularly in-flows of non-European people. Immigration and minority integration consistently occupy the headlines. The issues which rival immigration – unemployment, crime, terrorism – are often presented by politicians as its negative secondary effects. Immigration is also intimately connected to the profound challenges of demographic change, economic growth and welfare-state reform. Both academic observers and the European public are increasingly convinced that Europe’s future will largely turn on how is admits and integrates non-Europeans. This book is a comprehensive stock-taking of the contemporary situation and its policy implications.

Author Biography

Craig Parsons is Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon. Timothy M. Smeeding is Maxwell Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics and Public Administration, Syracuse University.