Editorial

The new issue of Migration Letters reflects again on the complexities of a post-Covid 19 world, characterized by the overlapping of old and new migratory experiences, divided along old and new configurations of racial, ethnic and religious stratification. This issue includes several topics whose relevance in the inclusive recovery we wish for, has already been highlighted. These include the securitization of migration (Stefancik, Némethová and Seresová); the continuing relevance of global remittances (Biyase, Fisher and Pretorius); the structures of exclusion in naturalization process (Catherine Simpson Bueker); the health conditions of refugees (Mendola and Busetta) and the practices of ‘othering' during the Covid-19 pandemic (Lumayag and Bala). The articles in this issue also focus on the integration and irregular migration in the South of Europe (Hüseyinoğlu and Utku; Cela and Barbiano di Belgiojoso; Kobelinsky and Furri; Terzakis and Daskalopoulou) as well as in affluent EU countries like Austria (Rauhut). Finally, two important contributions reflect on the gender perspective, a most relevant approach needed to counterbalance the gender bias in much of Covid analysis so far. These articles analyze in particular ethnic minorities’ fertility practices in Southern Europe (Carella, Del Rey Poveda and Zanasi) and gender role perceptions among minorities in England and Wales (Zuccotti).

Angiostrongylosis in Animals and Humans in Europe

Lungworms in the genus Angiostrongylus cause disease in animals and humans. The spread of Angiostrongylus vasorum within Europe and the recent establishment of Angiostrongylus cantonensis increase the relevance of these species to veterinary and medical practitioners, and to researchers in parasitology, epidemiology, veterinary science and ecology. This review introduces the key members of the genus present in Europe and their impacts on health, and updates the current epidemiological situation. Expansion of A. vasorum from localized pockets to wide distribution across the continent has been confirmed by a rising prevalence in foxes and increasing reports of infection and disease in dogs, while the list of carnivore and mustelid definitive hosts continues to grow. The tropically distributed rat lungworm A. cantonensis, meanwhile, has been recorded on islands south of Europe, previously the Canary Islands, and now also the Balearic Islands, although so far with limited evidence of zoonotic disease. Other members of the genus, namely, A. chabaudi, A. daskalovi and A. dujardini, are native to Europe and mainly infect wildlife, with unknown consequences for populations, although spill-over can occur into domestic animals and those in zoological collections. The epidemiology of angiostrongylosis is complex, and further research is needed on parasite maintenance in sylvatic hosts, and on the roles of ecology, behaviour and genetics in disease emergence. Improved surveillance in animals and humans is also required to support risk assessments and management.

Evaluation of Medicine Abuse Trends in Community Pharmacies: The Medicine Abuse Observatory (MAO) in a Region of Southern Europe

The misuse of medicines is a global public health concern that needs to be taken into consideration and requires actions across all government sectors and society. The aim of this study is to identify trends of drug abuse in Catalonia, a region of Spain located in the South of Europe. For this purpose, a questionnaire-based detection tool was created and implemented in 60 community pharmacies. Out of 548 questionnaires (98.4%), 64.2% of participants were men and the highest age proportion was 25–35 years (31.4%). Potential drug abuse was the highest in urban pharmacies (84.9%). The main drug class involved were benzodiazepines (31.8%), codeine (19.3%), tramadol (7.5%), methylphenidate (5.8%), gabapentinoids (5.8%), cycloplegic drops (4.4%), z-drugs (2.6%), piracetam (2.2%), dextromethorphan (1.6%) and clomethiazole (1.1%). The majority of drugs were requested without prescription (58.6%) and through probably forged prescriptions (23.7%). Slightly less than half (49.8%) of the patients request frequently to the pharmacist, especially in rural and mountain pharmacies (73.3% and 88.5%, respectively). A small proportion (10.8%) were requested with intimidation. Pharmacists only supplied in 21.7% of the cases. This study has demonstrated the suitability of the new detection system, being a useful approach to replicate in other locations with similar needs.

Beyond the Wave, the Sea: Re-assessing the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Southern Europe's Populist Upsurge

The paper re-assesses the relation between the economic crisis and the rise of populist parties in the South of Europe. It argues that the former did not cause the latter directly, but rather played out as a catalyst of previously existing trends, i.e. the erosion of party democracy and the disintermediation of Western societies. It combines several theoretical approaches to advance an explanatory model that replaces the relation between crisis and populism – conceived of as political, performative and discursively mediated – within its structural pre-conditions. By doing so, it aims at providing a synthetic and steady explanation of the contemporary rise of populism in Southern Europe and beyond.

Youth Work Transitions in the South of Europe

This chapter presents an in-depth review of the literature addressing the work transitions of emerging adults from the South of Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). These countries were severely hit by the 2008 economic crisis, which strongly impacted youth facing labor market integration. For southern European youth, labor market integration remains as a key transition enabling engagement in other adult roles and responsibilities. To address the work transitions of young people from the South of Europe, the authors (a) outline the specifics of the Mediterranean context influencing these transitions; (b) look into the general patterns and timing of youth work transitions in these countries; and (c) discuss how such transition patterns and timing affect how emerging adults approach and live their lives, in particular how they navigate the ongoing, multiple, and interconnected transitions to adulthood. The chapter concludes by highlighting the impact changing, adverse social contexts have on the ways in which youth construct their pathways to work and adulthood.

Meaning and Update of the Historical Silk Road: Globalization from East to West

The article analyzes the historical Silk Road in its long-term development. It entails reflections on the knowledge of Eastern global interactions providing a long-term contextual framework for Eurasia as a single continent. Eurasian globalization influenced the interactions of regions from China and India, through Western Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Northern Africa and the Mediterranean, and the south of Europe. An important role was played by the Silk Road, as the main historical long-term network of global interactions and communication, which is now being echoed in the new current global initiatives, particularly the Belt and Road Initiative, which updates the historical Silk Road.

Perspectives on LNG competitiveness: An overview of the EU market

In this paper we research the development and competitiveness of the LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) market in the European Union, especially in its member states located in west and south of Europe. First, we analyze legal and regulatory framework at the EU level, under which LNG terminals and facilities operate. In addition to content analysis, we also compare trends in the European LNG market with trends in other regions, especially in the Asian LNG market. The result of the research highlights the changed structure of the EU's gas market, characterized by larger imports of liquefied natural gas, especially since the end of 2018, as well as increased number of terminals and capacities for receiving liquefied gas. However, the growth in the share of liquefied gas in total import was not linear in the previous years. As a part of the discussion we examine three possible scenarios regarding the future of LNG market in the European Union, and we conclude that the perspective of LNG in the market will primarly depend on price competitiveness comparing it to pipeline gas transport.

BACK-HOME TOURISM IN EXTREMADURA, SPAIN: SPENDING PATTERNS AND MOTIVATION

El "turismo de vuelta a casa", el "turismo de retorno", es un tipo de "turismo rural" considerada por expertos, académicos y legisladores como importante en desarrollo rural, en especial, para las áreas rurales despobladas del sur de Europa. Se trata de un tipo de viajeros que vuelve a sus raíces, en muchos casos donde tienen una segunda vivienda o donde comparten casa con los familiares o amigos oriundos. Este turismo busca un hábitat imaginado, basado en experiencias personales donde la vida familiar es esencial para repetir la visita, y se caracteriza llevar a cabo prácticas que presenta matices diferenciales respecto al clásico turismo rural. En este artículo tratamos de identificar los patrones y motivaciones de este segmento del mercado turístico. “Back-home tourism”, "Tourism of return" or also typified as "Countryman tourism" is a category little considered by experts, academics and legislators in rural development, however in the last decades it is gaining prominence and special benefits are attributed to the unpopulated rural areas of the south of Europe. This tourism returns to their roots, in many cases where they have a second home or where they can share the home of relatives or friends. This tourism seeks an imagined habitat based on personal experience where family life is essential to repeat the visit and it is characterized by a consumption practice with nuances different from generic rural tourism. In this paper we try to identify the consumption patterns and motivations of this segment of the tourism market.

Indymedia legacies in Brazil and Spain: the integration of technopolitical and intersectional media practices

The Indymedia network is recognized for its open-editorial platform, as well as its prefigurative combination of technological tactics and organizational strategies. In this article, we discuss the legacy of Indymedia in countries not often focalized in the network or in the scholarly literature, namely Brazil and Spain. These countries were chosen to address gaps in the literature regarding Indymedia-influenced adaptations of horizontal media practices established in peripheral spaces such as Latin America and the so-called ‘Global South of Europe’. This research is based on data sets from two empirical research projects comprised of 37 semi-structured interviews in Spain and Brazil. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and comparatively analyzed using NVivo. Media activist practices challenge the reductionist binary that situates information and communication technologies (ICTs) as either deterministically revolutionary or intrinsically complicit with capitalism. In this context, using Midia Ninja in Brazil and XNet in Spain as case studies, we argue that Indymedia has had an impact on technological innovations adopted by contemporary intersectional social movement media projects in the global south, critically analyzing ways in which media activist projects have resisted exogenous and endogenous intersectional inequalities through developing specific organizational structures and practices. We find that intersectional practices related to the anti-capitalist technopolitics of Indymedia have both shaped and been shaped by specific dimensions of digital technologies. We argue that in alternative media practices, intersectionality and anti-capitalist technopolitics have emerged together as intertwined legacies of Indymedia.