Migration to Rural and Peripheral Destinations ― Transnationalism, Integration, and Acculturation on the Margins

Current population movements involve both established and new destinations, often encompassing marginal and rural communities and resulting in a whole new set of issues for these communities. This volume examines structural forces and individual strategies and behavior to highlight the opportunities and threats for ‘new' destination areas arising from new economic and cultural mobility. It represents a "second wave" in studies of in-migration by examining patterns in "non-traditional" rural and peripheral migration destinations and using the case of Northern Ireland. Accordingly, the book develops a much fuller conceptual and theoretical understanding of migration and social integration within rural/peripheral destinations. It provides clarification of many of the contested concepts including transnationalism; integration, acculturation and assimilation; ‘new' destinations; and migrants and ethnic minorities.

While a number of books provide an analysis of migration, they are typically concerned with patterns rather than micro-processes of migration. Less is known about new destination areas and on the micro-issues affecting migrants to those places: their lived experiences; the role of local networks and connections; and the significance of local civil society. By critically engaging with original theories of migration this volume provides a better understanding of an emerging field of migration studies in a rapidly changing and uncertain world.

McAreavey focuses on the local and the micro with a strong sense of research, social and policy reality. This book's interdisciplinary nature will have appeal to policymakers, scholars, and both undergraduate and postgraduate students in a range of disciplines including sociology (race and ethnic studies), human geography (migration, demography), political economy and community development.