Mediterranean Migration after WW II: Bridge or Barrier?

Description

This article examines migration flows across the Mediterranean since the end of WW II, using the concepts of ‘barrier’ and ‘bridge’. Its main argument is that, overall, the Mediterranean has turned from being a migration bridge during the first decades after the end of WW II to being a migration barrier from the mid-1970s onwards, as large-scale recruitment of migrant workers from south to north has given way to increasingly strict migration policies adopted by European countries. However, most recent developments suggest a more complex picture where bridges and barriers coexist. While growing restrictions have been placed on some forms of trans-Mediterranean migration, mainly irregular migration and refugee flows, there has in recent years also been a notable opening of channels for legal migration from south to north.