유럽의 이주갈등: 경제⋅사회정책의 영향을 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that have impact on the migration conflicts in Europe. The numbers of migrants have been expanded in accordance with the European integration, growing demands for cheap labor and violent disputes, resulting in the intensified conflicts between migrant and local societies, withdrawal of multiculturalism, and tougher control over migration. Social identity theory suggests a couple of factors that have influence over the conflicts between groups of different identities: salience of category, discrimination, and legitimization of discrimination. Xenophobia studies also suggest inequality and discrimination, changes in the composition of population, and mobilization by political elites as determinant factors of xenophobia. However, existing literature often fails to take the impact of the changes of socio-economic structure into consideration. This study underlines the difference in the migration conflicts in Europe, which caused by the restructuring strategies adopted by each countries included in this study. Four strategies such as social democratic, liberal, and two conservative strategies, i.e. adopted by Northern and Southern European countries, are identified in accordance with labor and social policies. Analysis of migration conflicts in different types of socio-economic structures leads us to a conclusion that migration patterns and conflicts are influenced by restructuring strategies. Such a conclusion also implies that further study is need to examine the impact of socio-economic policies on migration conflicts, and a control tower of migration policy has to be established to conduct an efficient management of migration-related issues.