The History of the European Migration Regime : Germany's Strategic Hegemony

After the Second World War the international migration regime in Europe took a course different from migration regimes in other regions of the world. On the basis of national and international archives, this book explains how German geopolitical and geo-economic strategies during the Cold War shaped the openness of that original regime. The volume embraces a time frame mostly between 1947 and 1992 and deals with all types of migration between and towards European countries: the movements of unskilled labourers, skilled professionals, self-employed workers, along with those of migrants’ family members, examining both their access to economic activity and their social and political rights.

After the Second World War, the international migration regime in Europe took a course different from the global migration regime and the migration regimes in other regions of the world. Cumbersome and arbitrary administrative practices prevailed in the late 1940s in most parts of Europe. The gradual implementation of regulations for the free movement of people within the European Community, European citizenship, and the internal and external dimensions of the Schengen agreements profoundly transformed the European migration regime. These instruments produced a regional regime in Europe with an unparalleled degree of intraregional openness and an unparalleled degree of closure towards migrants from outside Europe. This book relies on national and international archives to explain how German strategies during the Cold War shaped the openness of that original regime. This migration regime helped Germany to create a stable international order in Western Europe after the war, conducive to German Reunification and supported German economic expansion. The book embraces the whole period of development of this regime, from 1947 through 1992. It deals with all types of migrants between and towards European countries: unskilled labourers, skilled professionals, self-employed workers, and migrant workers’ family members, examining both their access to economic activity and their social and political rights.