Migration in and out of Southeastern Europe. Values, Networks, Wellbeing

Abstract

In July 2015 the Institute for East and Southeast European Studies—the home of this journal—hosted its 3rd Annual Conference. The title of the event was ‘Migration in and out of East and Southeastern Europe. Values, Networks, Well-Being’ and it brought together researchers from the social sciences and the humanities, who together clearly demonstrated how much value multiand interdisciplinary approaches add to the study of migration. As befi ts this journal, the contributions to that conference inspired us to assemble migration research focused on Southeastern Europe which looks at present or, rather, recent developments. Three of the fi ve papers in this special issue of Südosteuropa were presented and discussed during that July 2015 conference, while the other two papers, respectively by Nermin Oruč and Amina Tabaković and by Ana Aceska, were specially commissioned for this issue. Whereas the bulk of the scientifi c literature on the topic concentrates on the eff ects of migration within the society immigrated to, both the conference and the papers in this volume look too at the situation in countries emigrated from; in a way the phenomenon of return migration combines both elements along the time axis. Return migration is the topic of the fi rst paper, by Selma Porobić on ‘Bosnian “Returnee Voices” Communicating Experiences of Successful Reintegration. The Social Capital and Sustainable Return Nexus in Bosnia and Herzegovina.’ Porobić conducted illuminating interviews with returned migrants in three municipalities that experienced an enormous amount of war-displacement during the 1990s and substantial subsequent return migration. Clearly, ethnic confl icts in the region are still a major challenge requiring ‘social bridging’ eff orts between groups as well as ‘social bonding’ within homogenous groups. A third dimension, ‘social linking’, looks at the relationship between individuals or groups and state institutions. Porobić critically assesses the roles both of external help by humanitarian organisations such as the UNHCR, and the local and regional organisation of people—what she calls ‘grass-roots acSüdosteuropa 64 (2016), no. 1, pp. 1-4