The Alternative Economies of Emigration and Immigration, the Real and the Constitution of Italian Nation Spaces

In this paper I consider how we might interpret the implications of the coincidence of emigration and immigration in Italy. Some scholars have situated Italy's population changes in the past 30 years within the framework of the 'Mediterranean model of Migration'. Although this model o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mobilities 2006-11, Vol.1 (3), p.373-390
Main Author: DeMaria Harney, Nicholas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alternative economies
diaspora
emigration
immigration
Italy
the Real
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Summary:In this paper I consider how we might interpret the implications of the coincidence of emigration and immigration in Italy. Some scholars have situated Italy's population changes in the past 30 years within the framework of the 'Mediterranean model of Migration'. Although this model offers a general picture of the structural features in common among 'Mediterranean' countries, it assumes the existence of the nation rather than questioning its very becoming or possibility and how emigration and immigration as forms of mobility might suggest the limits to the symbolisation of nationalism. Employing concepts derived from Slavoj Žižek, I explore the potential to explain the constitution of Italian nation spaces through the concept of the 'Real' to analyse the threats that mobilities make to the fantasmic category of the Italian nation.
ISSN:1745-0101
1745-011X
DOI:10.1080/17450100600916024