Mobility instead of exodus

Africa is generally regarded by scholars and the mass media as a "continent on the move" - a movement primarily in the direction of Europe. Yet the public debate is dominated by two misconceptions. The first of these is that high population growth in Africa would almost automatically trigger higher international migration to the neighbouring European continent. There is even talk of a "rush to Europe". The second frequently encountered misconception is that migration and flight in and from Africa is primarily a result of poverty, violent conflicts and environmental degradation. Both are misconceptions that cannot be reconciled with the facts at hand. These facts are the subject of this volume.

The authors

Prof. Thomas Faist PhD heads the research group Sociology of Transnationalization and the Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development (COMCAD) at Bielefeld University.

Tobias Gehring is doing his doctorate at the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University and the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS).

Dr. Susanne U. Schultz received her doctorate from the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University. She is a senior expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung and an Associated Research Fellow at the Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development (COMCAD).