www.ssoar.info Globalisation, Migration and Socio-Economic Change in Contemporary Greece: Processes of Social Incorporation of Balkan Immigrants in Thessaloniki Hatziprokopiou, Panos Arion Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Monographie / monograph Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Hatziprokopiou, P. A. (2006). Globalisation, Migration and Socio-Economic Change in Contemporary Greece: Processes of Social Incorporation of Balkan Immigrants in Thessaloniki. (IMISCoe Dissertations). Amsterdam: Amsterdam Univ. Press. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-272126 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de Globalisation, Migration and Socio-Economic Change in Contemporary Greece IMISCOE (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion) IMISCOE is a European Commission-funded Network of Excellence of more than 350 scientists from various research institutes that specialise in migration and integration issues in Europe. These researchers, who come from all branches of the economic and social sciences, the huma- nities and law, implement an integrated, multidisciplinary and interna- tionally comparative research program that focuses on Europe’s migra- tion and integration challenges. Within the program, existing research is integrated and new re- search lines are developed that involve issues crucial to European-level policy-making and provide a theory-based design to implement new re- search. The publication program of IMISCOE is based on five distinct publication profiles, designed to make its research and results available to scien- tists, policymakers and the public at large. High-quality manuscripts written by IMISCOE members, or in cooperation with IMISCOE members, are published in these five series. An Editorial Committee coordinates the review process of the manuscripts. The five series are: 1. Joint Studies 2. Research 3. Dissertations 4. Reports 5. Textbooks More information on the network can be found at: www.imiscoe.org IMISCOE Dissertations include dissertations of IMISCOE members. There are more than 100 Ph.D. candidates in the various affiliated institu- tions working on doctoral research within the IMISCOE framework. Globalisation, Migration and Socio-Economic Change in Contemporary Greece Processes of Social Incorporation of Balkan Immigrants in Thessaloniki Panos Arion Hatziprokopiou IMISCOE Dissertations Cover design: Studio Jan de Boer BNO, Amsterdam Layout: Fito Prepublishing, Almere ISBN-13 978 90 5356 873 6 ISBN-10 90 5356 873 5 NUR 741 / 763 © Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2006 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright re- served above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or in- troduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Summary of thesis The study examines issues surrounding the social incorporation of im- migrants in Greece, focusing on a particular city, Thessaloniki, and on two migrant groups, Albanians and Bulgarians. The research is set within the debates about migration and globalisation, and more specifi- cally within the regional context of Balkan transnational migration. The thesis is the outcome of fieldwork research that involved struc- tured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, background sources and sys- tematic observation. It addresses the factors shaping immigrants’ lives through combined methodologies and an interdisciplinary approach that goes beyond oversimplifying accounts of exclusion-inclusion; rather, these are seen as dynamic processes connected to the wider so- cial reality. The concept of incorporation is employed in order to ana- lyse both the ways by which migrants organise their lives in the host society and the structural, institutional and cultural contexts that condi- tion them. The analytical framework distinguishes between several in- terrelated modes of incorporation: social/political responses; labour- market integration; living conditions and social space; coping strategies and community formation. A number of additional factors are also considered: the composition of the migrant populations; migratory pat- terns and dynamics; the role of social networks; issues of access; and questions of identity. The findings provide an empirical account of the immigrants’ char- acteristics, uncovering a high degree of heterogeneity that unavoidably determines incorporation patterns. ‘Immigrants’ become a social cate- gory constructed on the basis of the exclusionary mechanisms: the re- strictive immigration policy, the spread of xenophobic attitudes, and the particular space immigrants occupy in the labour market. However, immigrants do make a living in the host society: by adopting certain in- tegration ‘strategies’; by relying on (mostly informal) social networks; and by interacting in various ways with the local population. Incorpora- tion is subject to time and place: gradually, immigrants become organic elements of the host society, which shapes, but is also being shaped by, migration. The findings suggest that the Greek urban experience of immigra- tion is an interesting example of contemporary processes of globalisa- 6 MIGRATION IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE tion, migration and incorporation in urban contexts. Firstly, because some of the chief characteristics of international migration are re- flected in the Greek case. Secondly, because the Greek economy and Greek society have experienced immigration during a period of transi- tion and of increasing exposure to the international environment. Thirdly, because of certain features of transnational mobility emerging in the Balkan space, determined by proximity and cultural/historical ties. Within this context, Thessaloniki is becoming a new home for im- migrants from the Balkans. With a long past of multicultural coexis- tence and trans-local importance in the Balkan region, Thessaloniki now searches for new identities and reclaims its old role through the contradictions of a rapidly changing reality. Table of contents Summary of thesis 5 List of tables 9 List of figures 10 Abbreviations used in the text 11 Acknowledgements 13 1 Introduction 17 2 Locating our case in a world of change 25 3 Methodology and analytical framework 57 4 Structure, patterns and dynamics of migration 87 5 Confronting the state, facing society 109 6 Employment and labour-market integration 137 7 Housing and socio-spatial integration 171 8 A ‘space’ for living: socio-cultural integration 197 9 Migration and social change: revisiting theory 231 10 Conclusion: faraway so close 267 Notes 275 Bibliography 293 8 MIGRATION IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE Appendix A Additional tables and figures 309 Appendix B1 The questionnaire 319 Appendix B2 The interview guide 335 List of tables 4.1 Immigrants in Thessaloniki: demographic characteristics 4.2 Immigrants’ education level 4.3 Main occupation in the country of origin 4.4 Immigrants’ mode of entry into Greece when they first migrated 5.1 Immigrants’ legal status, by nationality and gender (N, %) 6.1 Employment position and level of skills by sector (%) 6.2 Immigrants’ employment by nationality, gender and ethnic origin (%) 6.3 Working conditions by sector of employment 6.4a Evidence of upward socio-economic mobility: Cross tabulations and chi-squares 6.4b Evidence of upward socio-economic mobility: Correlations 6.5 Language fluency as an asset in the labour market (%) 7.1 Immigrants’ housing conditions (%) 7.2 Housing conditions improve over time 7.3 Job location, area of residence and sector of employment (%) 8.1 Migrants’ holiday choices according to their period in Greece (%) 8.2a Details of the immigrants’ living conditions: variables used in the index of ‘material conditions’ 8.2b Details of the immigrants’ living condition: comparison of means – living conditions and migrants’ characteristics 8.2c Details of the immigrants’ living condition: correlating the ‘material conditions’ index score 8.3 Immigrants’ associations and community networks in Thessaloniki A1 Foreign nationals employed in 2001, by sector and sex A2 Foreign nationals in Greece, top 21 nationalities A3 Regional distribution and structure of the migrant population A4 Thessaloniki Prefecture, key socio-economic indicators, 1991, 2001 A5 Pro-migrant civil-society organisations in Thessaloniki A6 Detailed profession of immigrants by sector of employment A7 Community organisations of other migrant groups in Thessaloniki List of figures 4.1 Immigrants’ year of entry by nationality (N) 6.1 Category of daily wage, by nationality, gender, and ethnic origin 7.1 Areas of residence of Albanian and Bulgarian immigrants in Thessaloniki A1 Age structure (%), fertility and mortality (per 1,000) of the Greek population, 1971-2001 A2 Non-EU citizens in Greater Thessaloniki A3 Albanian and Bulgarian ‘tourists’ 1994-2002 (’000s and % of total tourists) Abbreviations used in the text EKJ Thessaloniki