Unravelling Europe's Migration Crisis ― Journeys over Land and Sea

The past few years have seen an unprecedented mass migration to Europe, as refugees from war and poverty throughout north Africa and the Middle East have embarked on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean in the hope of being allowed to start new lives in Europe.

This book draws on more than five hundred firsthand accounts to reveal the human story behind the statistics and demagoguery. What is it like to set out for Europe with your family, knowing the dangers you face on the way? Why are so many people willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean? What are their hopes and fears? And why is Europe, one of the richest regions of the world, unable to cope? More than just telling a human story, Heaven Crawley and colleagues provide a framework for understanding the dynamics underpinning the current wave of migration and challenging politicians, policy makers, and the media to rethink their understanding of why and how people move.

Heaven Crawley is professor of international migration at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations and senior research associate at the Overseas Development Institute and Refugee Law Initiative. Franck Düvell is associate professor and senior researcher at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at the University of Oxford, member of the Common Room of St Antony’s College, Oxford, and advisor of the Migration Research Centre at Koc University, Istanbul.
Katharine Jones is a senior research fellow at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. Simon McMahon is a research fellow at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. He has been a visiting researcher at the European University Institute in Italy, the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and the Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico. Nando Sigona is deputy director of the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity.