Pioneers of European Integration

"Pioneers of European Integration" offers the first systematic analysis of the small but symbolic potent numbers of European citizens, who have chosen to live and work in another member state of the EU. The free movement of EU citizens is the most visible sociological consequence of the remarkable process of European integration that has transformed the continent since the Second World War. Based on an original survey of 5000 people moving to and from the EU's five largest countries, the book documents the demographic profile, migration choices, cultural adaptation, social mobility, political participation and media use of these pioneers of a transnational Europe, as well as opening a window to the new waves of intra-EU East-West migrations. This book is the first available empirical study of the individuals using their core right as EU citizens - that is, the right of free movement. Graduate and postgraduate students and scholars of sociology, political science, human geography, anthropology, migration studies, contemporary European studies and EU studies will warmly welcome the volume. Civil servants and policy-makers will also find this book an invaluable read.