Journal articles on the topic 'Italy – Emigration and immigration – Social aspects'

Although Italy is a country with a strong tradition of emigration, only in the last twenty- five years have Italians had to face new and pressing social, juridical and cultural problems related to a surge in immigration. The majority of immigrants during this period have been from areas steeped in with a Muslim majority such as Northern and Central Africa and the Middle East. The cultural encounter between the Italian Catholic tradition and the newcomers’ faith and customs has been very pronounced, and often problematic. The aim of this paper is to investigate the most relevant issues that arise from the interface between the cultural and legal aspects of Islamic culture pertaining to immigrants living in Italy with the Italian legal system. The areas considered are related to self-determination, personal integrity and family law, and were selected for their relevance to analyzing the impact of cultural differences on public policies and social behavior. The methodology used draws from both a comparative and a multidisciplinary approach.

Abstract The article argues that the locus of the most interesting and important work in the fields of immigration and labor history lies precisely at the intersection of class and ethnicity. In developing this thesis, particularly with respect to Italian immigrant working-class movements in the United States, the author draws on his experiences as a working-class ethnic and historian as well as his readings of the literature. In the course of his research on Italian immigrants in Chicago, the author stumbled upon the submerged, indeed suppressed, history of the Italian American left. Italian-American working-class history has since been the focus of his work. Since mainstream institutions had neglected the records of this history, the recovery of rich documentation on Italian American radicalism has been a source of particular satisfaction. These movements had also been "forgotten" by the Italian Americans themselves. Despite important work by a handful of American scholars, relatively few Italian American historians have given attention to this dimension of the Italian American experience. Curiously the topic has received more attention from scholars in Italy. Mass emigration as much as revolutionary movements was an expression of the social upheavals of turn-of-the-century Italy. As participants in those events, the immigrants brought more or less inchoate ideas of class and ethnicity to America with them. Here they developed class and ethnic identities as Italian-American workers. The construction of those identities has been a process in which the Italian immigrants have been protagonists, filtering cultural messages through the sieve of their own experiences, memories, and values. Historians of labor and immigration need to plumb the sources of class and ethnic identity more imaginatively and sensitively, recognizing that personal identity is a whole of which class and ethnicity are inseparable aspects. The author calls upon historians to salvage and restore the concepts of class and ethnicity as useful categories of analysis.

The immigration pattern in Germany has changed from emigration to immigration. The state has yet to recognize this fact and to come to terms with the social requirements that this entails. Public attitudes emphasize the difficulties that emigrants bring but are insufficiently attuned to the positive economic and cultural aspects of emigration.

This article aims to study the role that Italy played in confronting the migratory flows in the early 90s, with a separate analysis of the Albanian case. The Italian diplomacy policies regarding the problems caused by the confrontation of the illegal immigration phenomenon will be analyzed. This research intends to provide an overview of the political and social relations between the two countries. The problem is analyzed through a bibliographic search, treating the issues in a historical and political framework. The scientific contributions on the issue under consideration are mainly the Italian legislation, archival resources taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives, reports and strategies drawn up by the Italian government, in order to avoid social and economic problems. The study method used is qualitative. This author’s interest relates to the conviction that Italy has played an important role in confronting the Albanian emigrants even though most of the time it appears without a concrete plan and at the same time contradictory. While writing this paper we will review all factors and consequences that were derived in this phenomenon.

Abstract The phenomenon of Italian migration is characterized by a clear caesura, which makes Italy a country with a long history of emigration and a much shorter experience of immigration. The mid-1970s are considered a breakthrough, when the zero-migration balance was recorded for the first time. The growing wave of arriving foreigners forced the rulers to change the current immigration policy, which rarely responded to the needs of both foreigners and citizens of the Republic. Subsequent laws, usually created in extraordinary circumstances, were also subject to the process of alternating power. Lack of legislative continuity and insufficient social integration gave birth to additional tensions around the observed influx of refugees. In this situation, it seems that the management of the migration crisis is no longer the responsibility of a single nation, but should be an action taken at the level of solutions of the European community.

This article deals with the position of young people and the role of communist youth organizations in Istria in the years after the World War II. During this period, Istrians were torn between Yugoslavia and Italy, and a diplomatic struggle for territory was being waged. It will briefly address some of the aspects of young Croats and Italians’ daily lives, their political mobilization within larger organizations, and the challenges they faced due to political and social processes occurring during this period. Some of these included upbringing and education, ethnic coexistence, young people’s involvement in reconstructing and building the country through work actions, echoes of the conflict between Yugoslavia and Cominform among young people in Istria, and Italian emigration from Istria. This article will try to answer some questions about how young people coped with these processes in Istria, a troubled border area in a turbulent time, using primarily archival records kept in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb and relevant literature.

Starting symbolically from a place of transit and mobility such as the Galleria in Naples, I look at the pace of immigration movements to Italy from both ex-colonial territories and other countries. Precarity characterizes the migrant condition in Italy: entrance and stay permits; work and housing, which are difficult to obtain and always temporary; bureaucratic control is severe and the right to citizenship is distant. The collective amnesia of the colonial enterprise obscures the fact that at least some of the guests of today were the hosts of yesterday. I analyse these, and other aspects, in the literature of migration that in recent decades has emerged in Italy, focusing on women's writing and confronting the problem of how long it will take for this literature to receive recognition in the Italian literary canon. In women's narratives, precarity emerges in the journey of emigration, described as a real odyssey; in tensions over identity and language; in contrasting cultures of departure and cultures of destination; in the problematic concept of ‘home’. Racial and gender differences subsumed in the colour of skin are a recurrent motif. For women, hardships may be more deeply felt: isolation and loneliness is augmented by the distance from children and family; the relationship between past and present more troublesome as it often leads to a double oppression. independence is more fiercely fought for in the affirmation of identity. Finally, I show that, alongside conditions of isolation and despair, strength and hope in the new life emerge from these writings, touching on the importance of writing in Italian and on the motives leading to this choice.

When individuals cross a border and settle in a new social environment, they become migrants. People come here to work, improve the family conditions, restore a lost status. They work, send remittances, strive to adjust their legal status, learn how to cope with a new way of living. But they also make new friends, new lovers, reunite families. They also encounter new sexual cultures, new erotic narratives and norms. Migration is consequently a good test for contemporary theories of erotic plasticity. Are adult migrants, that have acquired and practised for decades a given erotic habitus, able to change it in depth during emigration? And which are, if any, the dimensions of these change? Eastern European women pioneers in Italy – women who have migrated alone, outside of any recruitment program, to areas with no previous history of immigration from their lands – provide a fascinating case of sexual change.

Introduction Emigration is the act of leaving one’s country of nationality or habitual residence to settle in another nation. In Tunisia, this phenomenon is increasing in particular for doctors. Objectives Evaluating the intentionality of emigration among interns and medical residents in Tunisia while studying the factors related to it. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study of interns and medical residents who participated in our study through the social network ’Facebook’ by an anonymous self-questionnaire. The level of satisfaction with the different aspects of life were assessed by a 5-point Likert scale, from “not at all satisfied” to “very satisfied”. Results The total number of participants was 56 of which 64.3% were medical residents. More than 50% of the participants expressed dissatisfaction with the distribution of tasks and organization of work (66.1%), safety at work (53.6%), comfort (57.2%), time allocated to personal life (53.6%) and salary (69.6%). The political, health and educational situation in the country was considered unsatisfactory by the majority of participants (90% to 95%). Among our participants, 44.6% regretted having chosen the profession of medicine and 53.6% had plans to immigrate to work abroad. The intentionality of immigration was significantly higher among men (p=0.02), those with siblings abroad (p=0.047) and those without dependent relatives (p=0.040). Conclusions Young physicians are strongly looking for emigration. This decision could emanate from professional, personal and political factors. Further studies seem to be necessary to explain this emigration phenomenon. Disclosure No significant relationships.

In Italy, most of the studies on immigrants’ associationism and participation have concentrated on the more formal andstructured aspects. Little research has been done on forms of immigrant self-organization not oriented towards the society in the country of adoption. Drawing on these considerations, this article analyzes the self-organization of Bangladeshi residents in the municipality of Venice considering both their infra-political and their politico-organizational mobilization, seeking relationships between these two spheres of action, identifying transnational bonds, and dynamics linked to the social and political context of their home country. At the same time, the study considers the influence of other factors, such as the social, political and economic context found in the country of immigration (at both national and local level), and also the personal variables that can influence people’s participation, such as gender, generation, social class, amount of time spent in the adopted country, legal status, formal education, human capital, attitudes and personal projects in general.

Lebanon is defined as a country of emigration and immigration. Whereas previously, emigration was considered a male migration. Gradually, in recent years emigration has evolved and is becoming feminine also. Independent female migration is a growing phenomenon in the Lebanese society although men still play an important role in the migration project.In the past, women were emigrating most often in the context of family reunification, accompanying their husbands to join a member of their families. The majority of migrant women today are leaving the country for so many reasons (further education, work, etc.) and not only to join their husbands. This article examines highly skilled female migration from Lebanon.In France, the migration of skilled workers from Lebanon has experienced very rapid growth in the last decade. However, female migration does not seem to have been the subject of a sociological reading. The study includes qualitative analysis of twenty five cases studied of Lebanese skilled migrant women in France, especially a university degree or equivalent (nurses, architects, teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, researchers ...) who were not married or go join their family when they have emigrated, and they have a good command of French language, and who were not dual nationality holders.This article aims to fill some gaps in this area, examining the reasons for change: migration path, the link with the country of origin, the impact of female migration on their personal, social, cultural and family, their return project, exchanges on the remittances levels, career transition path and entrepreneurship, adaptations, their social networks, their identity reconstruction, etc. Besides, there are also non-measurable aspects noted as the autonomy of women to discuss.

In the absence of comprehensive, systematic and precize data on international migration in Serbia, and consequently the analysis of migration trends, their drivers and outcomes, the objective of this paper is to offer the review of contemporary migration flows in Serbia. International migration flows are observed in the context of semi-peripheral position of Serbia in the global system, and hindered transformation and development. Migrations are analyzed at the macro level, according to the key dimensions, such as the intensity, directions of flows and characteristics of migrants. The analysis is grounded in the basic classification to outward and inward migration flows (emigration and immigration), including some that include both aspects as they are transit migrations from underdeveloped to developed countries through the territory of Serbia. Within this basic division, migration flows are analyzed separately depending on their legal status as defined by present international and national normative frameworks, as well as by motivation for migration. In addition to the analysis of main migratory trends, the attention is focused to the actual migration management policies.

As Australia, shaped by new policies of immigration and multiculturalism, grows more cosmopolitan, the challenge for psychiatry is to gain greater familiarity with the new ethnic minority groups, including their cultural personalities and backgrounds. The problem faced by the Burmese group in Australia is distinctive and poignant. Some 20,000 Burmese immigrated following World War II, chiefly to Western Australia in the first place, uniting and consolidating their families. Following the military coup and the Revolutionary Council Government of the early 60s, further emigration from Burma was cut off. This meant that the Burmese in Australia, already under stress arising from cultural differences, were prevented from developing the extensive internal social support systems that characterise other major ethnic groups. The author, a Burmese doctor working in a psychiatric setting in Sydney, draws attention to aspects of his country and its people which should be helpful for psychiatric and related professions.

Italy became a country of immigration quite late. external factors influenced the formation of Italy’s migration policy: the expansion of regional integration within the European community and accession to international conventions. The legislation on citizenship reacted to these changes. In particular, access to citizenship was made more difficult for foreigners from countries that were not part of the European community, and it was easier for descendants of emigrants who lived abroad to acquire citizenship. Italy has one of the most modern laws on the status of foreigners, which regulates all aspects of the legal status of these persons, as well as their social adaptation, and provides for the necessary measures to prevent discrimination and xenophobia. The provisions of this act may change in the event of a change in the government coalition, but the basic approaches are unchanged: citizens of other States are considered as part of the population of Italy; foreigners who reside in the country legally are equal to its citizens; illegal migrants are legally guaranteed a certain minimum of rights and freedoms.

Purpose – Italy has become a migrant receiving country and it has to face with the problem of social inclusion of immigrants. The purpose of this paper is to measure the gap on poverty and deprivation between immigrants and natives since manifest conditions of both of them are an important signal, although not exclusively, of social exclusion. Design/methodology/approach – Poverty analysis typically relies on a single monetary variable such as income and it is characterized by a simple dichotomization of the population into poor and non-poor. In this paper the authors stress the importance of using a multidimensional and fuzzy approach in order to study disparities between immigrants and natives. The authors cover several of the multifaceted aspects of resources necessary to maintain adequate living standards in a developed country. With the fuzzy methodology, the authors also overcome any limitation of the conventional approach based on the simple dichotomization of the phenomenon. Findings – The empirical analysis is based on data from two official surveys. The authors find that between Italian and immigrant households there are significant differences in poverty and deprivation levels, with a strong disadvantage for the latter. The authors argue that any serious attempt to reduce poverty and deprivation must now include comprehensive reforms in the nation's immigration policies if they are to be taken seriously. Originality/value – The paper makes an original contribution to the understanding of inequality between immigrants and natives, by studying a complex phenomena such as poverty and deprivation in a multidimensional perspective using a fuzzy approach.

This article analyses the representation of the impact of migration on family dynamics in three autobiographical works: Laura Pariani’s Il piatto dell’angelo (2013), Mary Melfi’s Italy Revisited. Conversations with my Mother (2009), and Antonella Di Pietrantonio’s Mia madre è un fiume (2011). All three authors were directly or indirectly affected by the wave of emigration that took place in Italy between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Pariani extends her observations to the present by focusing also on those South American women who are currently moving to Italy to work as cares for old people, often leaving their families behind. Motherhood and mothering are central themes in all three books. These works problematise the patriarchal notion of motherhood and highlight the need to move towards alternative concepts of motherhood that do not imply the subordination of women. Additionally, this article offers a reflection on the role that creative writing can play in challenging some of the most engrained stereotypes, such as those of the good mother versus the bad mother, partially related to our Christian tradition. Building on Podnieks and O’Reilly’s notion of “maternal texts” (1-2), this article argues that through fiction women are less inhibited in exploring the thornier aspects of motherhood as a social construction than they seem to be in everyday life.

- Immigration and security have been paired as an object of discussion far too much. Though international experience teaches us that migrating processes lead to effects of higher and deeper insecurity, Italy has until now witnessed - both among scientists and among politicians - a tendency to deny the relationship between these two phenomena. However data clamorously contradicts this assumption. According to the most recent data available, more than 35% of the crimes are attributed to foreigners and 37% of the people in prison are foreigners. If we can share the idea, put forward by many, that data does not explain everything and is subject to influences of various nature that must be taken into consideration, the widespread attitude of denial is due to ideological options rather than any rigorous analysis of available data. However some studies in countertendency can help specify the state of the issue, identify aspects worthy of further investigation, and define the theoretical perspectives and methods most useful to continue research on this topic.

Abstract Subject and purpose of work: The article is devoted to factors influencing the migration decisions of young Poles to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and to showing the differences in their perception of the country of emigration and the country of immigration. The elements of youth policy in Poland and the Netherlands were also presented. The hypothesis adopted in the paper was that the decisions of young people in the labor market are mainly influenced by short-term financial aspects. Materials and methods: The observations and assessments used in the article were formulated based on the research literature on the subject, the statistical data collected by the institutions of Poland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union, a questionnaire survey and own experiences gained from mobility. Results: The article outlines the course of migration trends of Poles and presents the causes of changes in the choice of the destination country for migration. It presents factors encouraging young people to take up employment in the country and those encouraging them to search a job abroad, specifically in the Netherlands. The barriers and facilities that may be encountered by young people seeking employment in the labor market in both countries were indicated. The reasons for the emigration of young people from Poland were discussed based on the results of the current study, that is a 400-person research sample obtained from an online survey. The aim of the study was to identify three important factors influencing the decision to emigrate and to evaluate this decision. Conclusions: The conducted analysis shows the complexity of the problems of migration of young people. Economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental factors have a significant influence on the decisions made. From the point of view of young people, the unattractive domestic labor market in terms of finance and development, and all the resulting consequences are the biggest problems.

The article deals with the innovative mechanism of the new economy in the aspects of regional and national peculiarities of its functioning in the global and EU space. The general tendency of strengthening the orientation of national economies towards international trade in services, internationalization of research networks and expansion of creative human resources have been determined. Contrarily, evaluating the results of the Lisbon Strategy has demonstrated the need to prioritize employment, productivity and social cohesion to achieve global leadership. The concentration of scientific and technical potential of the leading countries of the international market on breakthroughs for economic development is an important tendency in the conditions of globalization. It has been shown that the implementation of new economy ideas sharpens competition for the skilled labour as a major component in research, innovation and entrepreneurship. At the same time, there are processes of transition from being an emigration country to being an immigration one. A comparison of EU and Chinese investment policy has been made, demonstrating the potential of using national sources, community mutual funds and fiscal federalization. It has been argued that the development of innovative products through the integration of science and production is an important factor in the development of new economy.

There is debate as to whether cohort studies are valid when they are based on a source population that is non-representative of a given general population. This baseline selection may introduce collider bias if the exposure of interest and some other outcome risk factors affect the probability of being in the source population, thus altering the associations between the exposure and those risk factors. We argue that this mechanism is not specific to ‘selected cohorts’ and also occurs in ‘representative cohorts’ due to the selection processes that occur in any population. These selection processes are for example linked to the life status, immigration and emigration, which, in turn, may be affected by environmental and social determinants, lifestyles and genetics. We provide real-world examples of this phenomenon using data on the population of the Piedmont region, Italy. In addition to well-recognised mechanisms, such as shared common causes, the associations between the exposure of interest and the risk factors for the outcome of interest in any source population are potentially shaped by collider bias due to the underlying selection processes. We conclude that, when conducting a cohort study, different source populations, whether ‘selected’ or ‘representative’, may lead to different exposure–outcome risk factor associations, and thus different degrees of lack of exchangeability, but that one approach is not inherently more or less biased than the other. The key issue is whether the relevant risk factors can be identified and controlled.

Religions and religiosities are among the various social life spheres being affected by medical and political measures imposed during the health emergency. Involving a wide range of daily life dimensions and intertwining with fundamental aspects of individual and social existence, restrictions hit religions and religiosities in all those spaces where they find expression in our contemporary era. Pandemic restraints induced changes in the use of different public spaces: from school to home, from workplaces to places of worship, from prisons to squares, from hospitals to cemeteries. This also concerned the way religiosity could be performed, lived and shared in everyday life, for communities, families and individuals. In particular, during the pandemic, the role of religious environments became, once again, a place of material as well as spiritual support for migrants. And in this perspective, young people, i.e., second generations, played a prominent role, regaining prestige and recognition from adults. In fact, from being perceived as “far from religion and on the road to secularization”, as one interviewee said, young people have been able to show how it is possible to reinterpret religion in emigration, without abandoning religious values. This paper discusses the results of preliminary research on the topic conducted in the first phase of the pandemic in Turin, a city that, for its history of immigration and consolidated presence of Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox communities, is an emblematic case of the Italian multicultural context.

- The essay analyzes the recoveries of the garibaldian tradition in the period among the two world wars. The levels are manifold: the political dimension and the generational aspects, the family genealogies of the garibaldinism and the imaginary genealogies, sometimes interwoven and contrasted. Particular attention has been therefore reserved to the pages of "Camicia rossa", in which take form the perspectives and the claims of the "garibaldian fascism", but some contrasts also manifest themselves among the public use of the history promoted by the regime and the position of Ezio Garibaldi. On the long period the antifascist declination of the garibaldian tradition has in the French context its ground of fundamental development. The diplomatic relationships between Italy and France constitute the background to the dynamics in which the refugees try to create or to preserve a social and political role. The political emigration doesn't give up at all valorizing the patrimony of the Risorgimento in antifascist key. In the environment and on the pages of "Giustizia e Libertŕ" the dispute on the Risorgimento is faced in more systematic way. The recoveries of the garibaldian tradition - fascists and antifascists - concern a fundamental historical knot: the inheritance of the Great War and the choice of the Italian volunteers of the 1914. Recovering a constitutive and native aspect of the camicia rossa, the stories of the garibaldinism in this phase have therefore an international dimension and they are subscribed in a triangular perimeter that has Italy, France and Spain as vertexes.

In the paper, the regularities of the formation of social capital as a component of the problem of capitalization of social interaction have been studied. The methodological approach of the research includes two aspects: theoretical, the purpose of which is to substantiate the theoretical structure of the regularities of the formation of social capital; analytical, according to which the manifestation of the revealed regularities in Ukraine and other countries has been assessed. Four main regularities have been considered (empathy, risk reflectivity, migration impact, norm correspondence), which determine the functioning of the essential elements of social capital, as well as the features of transformation and conversion of its forms. The selection of proper economic indicators that reflect trends in the manifestation of social capital formation has been performed. The results of analytical assessment of the actualization of the specified regularities in Ukraine compared to other countries have been presented. The research revealed that empathy, as a relationship between rationality and sociality of human interaction, constitutes a solid foundation for the development of social capital and has the most vivid and positive manifestations in Ukrainian society when economic agents readily and carefully respond to the needs of their counterparts in social relations. The paper demonstrates the features of the differentiation of forms of social capital according to the direction of internal connections within social networks and the homogeneity (density) of social networks. The determinism of the variability of the forms of social capital is substantiated by the different perceptions of risks by the agents of social interaction. The low tolerance of Ukrainian economic agents to risk has been registered. This determines their preferences regarding participation in vertical and closed social networks. The relationship between migration (mobility) and social trust is revealed. It is argued that the relationship manifests itself in the generally ambiguous impact of immigration to Ukraine and emigration from Ukraine on the functioning of trust networks. This testifies to the possibilities and reserves of managing such an impact to increase social capital in the country. The objective relationship between trust in social norms (the degree of their social recognition and acceptance) and the productivity of social capital is specified. It has been observed that in Ukraine, a critically low level of trust in social norms and norm-setting institutions contributes to the development of corruption and destructive social networks.

Resumen: Nuestro interés en investigar el tema de la traducción en el ámbito jurídico en la combinación español-chino nace, por un lado, de los conocimientos adquiridos en el Máster Universitario en Comunicación Intercultural, Interpretación y Traducción en los Servicios Públicos de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares y en la sociedad española en general por ser un país receptor de inmigrantes con más de 200,000 chinos y, por otro lado, de los cambios sociales que están teniendo lugar en la propia China. En la última década, el número de extranjeros que viven en China también ha ido aumentando cada día más. De hecho, según estadísticas oficiales del Sexto Censo Nacional, a finales del año 2010, había 593.832 extranjeros residiendo en China, de los cuales más de 200.000 estaban cotizando a la Seguridad Social. Sin embargo, siendo un país en vías de desarrollo y tradicionalmente de emigración, China aún está en su fase inicial de legislación del tema, sin tener una ley específica para extranjeros. Actualmente, las disposiciones en materia de extranjería se distribuyen en diferentes leyes y, por tanto, recopilarlas constituye uno de los objetivos de este estudio.Por otro lado, la investigación sobre la traducción en el ámbito jurídico entre el español y el chino es un área aún sin explorar, mucho más atrasada que las investigaciones entre el inglés y el chino, a pesar de su importancia hoy en día. De hecho, en los últimos años, los intercambios en diversos ámbitos entre España y China son cada vez más frecuentes, con lo cual, la demanda de traducción jurídica en la combinación español- chino también es mayor. Partiendo de esta necesidad, nos gustaría llevar a cabo un estudio inicial sobre la traducción jurídica en la combinación español- chino, utilizando la Ley de Extranjería de España y la legislación china en materia de extranjería como corpus del estudio. En resumen, este estudio tiene como objetivo principal comparar el lenguaje legislativo español y chino utilizado en las legislaciones española y china en relación con la extranjería, y analizar las dificultades de su traducción. Abstract: Our interest in investigating the topic of Spanish-Chinese legal translation stems from two aspects. On the one hand, the professional knowledge we acquired in the MA in Intercultural Communication, Interpretation and Translation in Public Services at theUniversity ofAlcalá, and the general interest we have in the Spanish society as an immigrant-receiving country with more than 200,000 Chinese alone. On the other hand, a lot of social changes have been affectingChina itself. In the last decade, the number of foreigners living inChina has been growing every day. According to official statistics from the Sixth National Census, at the end of 2010, there were 593,832 foreigners residing in China, of which over 200,000 contributed to Social Security. However, being a developing and traditionally emigration country, China is still in its initial phase of pre-legislation without having a specific set of laws for foreigners. Currently, the provisions relating to immigration are distributed in different laws, and therefore collecting these laws is one of the main objectives of this study. Despite its importance nowadays, researches on the translation in legal fields between Spanish and Chinaremain unexplored, and it even stays far behind those regarding the English-Chinese linguistic combination. In fact, in in recent years, exchanges between Spainand Chinain various fields have increased and this has led to a greater demand of professional legal translation services. Based on this need, we would like to conduct an initial study on the translation of immigration law documents between Spanish and Chinese, taking the Aliens Act ofSpain and Chinese laws on foreigners as the corpus for study. Eventually, this study aims to compare the legal discourses used in the Spanish and Chinese laws regarding immigration, and analyze the difficulties of their translation.

One of the major challenges for the economic development of Georgia is how to increase the rate of employment and decrease the rate of unemployment. At the current stage of economic and social development of Georgia, it is very important to raise an employment rate and to decrease an unemployment rate. This complex problem is subject to constant changes over time. Therefore, the continuous research in this field is and will stay very important. It is a priority for the economic development of the country to make relevant political steps to decrease unempoyment and increase employment. In order to develop efficient economic policy to decrease unemployment and increase employment, it is important to conduct a thorough market analysis and implement necessary steps to get better results. This article analyzes the current situation in terms of employment and unemployment, provides relevant latest data and describes the existing circumstances based on the analysis of these data. In this article, the focus is made on an important issue affecting unemployment, such as migration processes. Both external and internal migration makes an important impact on the current unemployment rate in the country. Internal migration may lead to positive as well as negative consequences. The article indicates that the consequences are considered to be positive, if the population migration is directed from the regions with the surplus of workforce to the regions with the shortage of workforce, which certainly leads to the lower unemployment rate in the country; on the other hand, the consequences are negative when an excessive number of people are migrating from certain regions, making it impossible to develop these regions in the future; also such migration increases the population in the big cities, which leads to worsened leaving conditions and poor municipal services in these cities. Besides, the article focuses on external migration processes: emigration and immigration as important aspects affecting the unemployment. Both of them have positive and negative consequences. In case of emigration, a positive consequence can be if the surplus of the workforce is leaving the country. This decreases the rate of unemployment; while the negative consequences will entail, if the workforce of employment age, mainly young people, are leaving the country. This creates a problem in the country with a low birth rate and puts even the population replacement under danger. It is well known that migration of the population influences the demographic structure of the population. The migration mostly involves the population of working age, mainly young people. The population increases in regions which are receiving migrants. Namely, the ratio of young population is increasing. In the regions from which people are emigrating, the absolute number of population is decreasing and withing the age structure, the ratio of elderly population is increasing. Besides, the article reviews a negative impact inflicted by COVID-19, declared as the world pandemic by the World Health Orgrnization, on different social and economic aspects of the country. The article also discusses the main challenges of the labor market – the high rate of unemployment, the employment structure and a low productivity of self-employed. For the past few years, there have been drastic demographic changes, which results in a decreased workforce. These demographic changes are caused by people leaving the country as well as by the unstable birth rates. Besides, “brain drain” during the short period of time leads to the loss of intellectual asset of the country. However, if these people come back, it may have a very positive impact on the labor market: it will increase the number of qualified people in the country and it will have a positive influence on the economy of the country and its growth. Keywords: labor market; employment; unemployment; economically active population; workforce; employed; self-employed; modern challenges; impact of the pandemic.

Статья посвящена исследованию одного из важнейших аспектов миграционной проблематики — роли пищи в контексте межкультурных контактов мигрантов и местного населения, «пришлых» и «принимающей стороны». На конкретных примерах, зафиксированных в ходе полевых исследований на юге Италии, пища, ее выбор, бинарная оппозиция «наша»/«чужая» и набирающий популярность переход на новую инокультурную алиментарную систему каждого из участников процесса аккультурации рассматриваются не только как отражение их социокультурного взаимодействия, но и как фактор формирования и оптимизации взаимоотношений в современном обществе. Особое внимание уделяется широкому спектру параметров влияния на характер общения на «пищевой почве» и на алиментарно-обусловленное поведение как мигрантов, так и жителей Италии, представителей «принимающей стороны» — от исторических, социальных, культурных предпосылок до традиционных ментальных стереотипов, типичных для населения отдельных социальных страт и областей Италии. Анализ сугубо «пищевых аспектов» контекста миграционной темы позволяет ярко высветить региональные различия в менталитете локального населения. Особое место в исследовании занимает освещение миграционной политики властей той или иной автономной области страны и ее исторических регионов, детерминирующие аспекты видения «пришлых» в широких слоях социума, а также роль исторической памяти населения в процессе формирования стереотипов восприятия «Другого». This article is devoted to a rather poorly studied aspect of migration research in the scientific discourse — the role of food in cross‑cultural contacts between migrants and the local population, «newcomers» and «hosts». It uses concrete examples to consider food, its choice (the binary opposition «our»/»someone else’s»), and the transition to a new foreign‑cultural alimentary system not only as a reflection of the socio‑cultural interaction of these two categories of the population in the context of modern Italian society but also as a factor in the formation and optimization of relations between them. Special attention is paid to a wide range of factors that influence the nature of these relationships on «food soil» and alimentary‑motivated behavior of both migrants and the people of Italy. These include both historical, social, and cultural backgrounds and traditional attitudes of the population of certain social strata and certain regions. The analysis of purely «dietary aspects» of the immigration problem also allows us to clearly highlight the regional diversity of the population of Italy. Special emphasis is put on discussing migration policies of different autonomous regions of the country and its historical regions, which largely shape the way the broad layers of society see migrants and the role of the historical memory of the population in forming stereotypes about the «Other».

Abstract BACKGROUND Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by abnormal hemoglobin. SCD causes hemolytic anemia, vaso-occlusion leading to vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) and contributing to organ damage and early death. SCD is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but also countries such as Brazil, India and US, have comparatively high frequencies of SCD. Global migration has contributed to a greater geographical spread. The prevalence of SCD in Sweden is unknown. OBJECTIVE The primary objectives of this study were to estimate the 1-year prevalence of SCD and SCD-associated resource use in Sweden. Secondary objectives were to estimate birth incidence, treatment patterns and survival. PATIENTS Patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis code for SCD (any D57 [excluding D57.3, sickle cell trait]) were identified from the Swedish Patient Registry (between January 1 st 2001 and June 30 th 2018). Patients were assessed for 1-year prevalence and resource use per calendar year for a follow-up period of 13 years (2006-2018). METHODS Patients were considered prevalent from birth or immigration to death or emigration. Resource use from specialized care, including all events recorded in the registry with any D57 as the main diagnosis was assessed in the follow up period 2006-2018 as number of outpatient visits and inpatient stays. Costs for this hospital resource use were estimated through remuneration amounts based on diagnosis related groups. Data on sick leave days and days with disability pension due to SCD in patients in working age (18-65 years) were retrieved from the Swedish Social Security Agency and costed with the mean salary in Sweden, plus social security contributions. Costs are reported in 2019 Swedish Krona (SEK, ≈$ 0.1). RESULTS One-year prevalence of all SCD diagnosis increased from 504 patients (5.53 per 100,000 population) in 2006 to 670 patients (6.55 per 100,000 population) in 2018. The 1-year prevalence of SCD patients ever recorded with an ICD-10 code for SCD with VOC (D57.0) increased from 139 patients (1.53 per 100,000 population) in 2006 to 260 patients (2.54 per 100,000 population) in 2018. The proportion of prevalent patients that were born in Sweden decreased over the years, from approximately 55% in the beginning of the study period to 45% in the end of the study period. The mean and median age of the SCD population decreased over the study period. Individuals with SCD and VOC were, on average younger than the other SCD (D57) subgroups. Birth incidence was captured by calendar year 2006-2018 and was highest in 2007 with 15 children born with SCD. For Swedish-born children with SCD during the patient identification time (n=123), the mean time to identification in the registers was 2.6 years (SD 2.7, range 0-16 years). Hospital outpatient visits and inpatient stays with SCD (all events with D57 recorded) as main diagnosis increased from 57 to 189, and 250 to 1,003, respectively, over the years 2006-2018. This corresponded to costs of inpatient care increasing from 1.4 million (M) SEK in 2006 to 7.3 M SEK in 2018 and costs of outpatient visits increasing from 0.9 M SEK in 2006 to 4.6 M SEK in 2018. The vast majority of costs were incurred in individuals ever recorded with a SCD with VOC diagnosis (D57.0). The most frequent hospital treatment was blood transfusion, with 8-11% of patients receiving transfusion in each year studied, especially common in SCD and VOC diagnosis. The prescribed treatment with the highest increase of uptake over the study period were hydroxyurea, vitamins and paracetamol in all SCD. Individuals in working age had on average 2.3 days of sick leave per patient-year due to SCD (D57), and approximately 4% of these patients received disability benefits because of their SCD. During the follow-up period, the median age at death was 74 years for all SCD and 69 years for SCD with crisis, this is 7-10 years and 12-15 years less compared to the Swedish general population respectively. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that the prevalence, hospital resource use and associated costs have increased substantially in Sweden. In an era of emerging treatments for SCD we have for the first time comprehensively described epidemiological-, disease-related and economical aspects of SCD in Sweden. Disclosures Hernlund: ICON: Current Employment. Ivergård: ICON: Current Employment. Svedbom: ICON: Current Employment. Dibbern: Novartis: Current Employment. Stenling: Novartis: Current Employment. Sjöö: Novartis: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Vertuani: Novartis: Current Employment. Glenthøj: Saniona: Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Agios: Consultancy; Novo Nordisk: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; Alexion: Research Funding; Sanofi: Research Funding; Bluebird Bio: Consultancy.

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different “faces of migration”, which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title “Many faces of migration”, connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute’s report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views “on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of “other” disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to “demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door”. The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. “In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization”.Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants “dream”, Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O’Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the “division of labour” in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener’s theory the author expresses “remoteness” of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. “Remoteness” is formed in relation to the “outside world”, to those who speak of “remote areas” from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim “to open a place like this to the outside world”, “to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place”, shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the “remoteness”.Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration “of people in creative occupations” in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are “modern” and countries of origin “traditional”. Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the “western world”. On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal.

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different “faces of migration”, which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title “Many faces of migration”, connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute’s report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views “on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of “other” disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to “demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door”. The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. “In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization”.Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants “dream”, Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O’Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the “division of labour” in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener’s theory the author expresses “remoteness” of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. “Remoteness” is formed in relation to the “outside world”, to those who speak of “remote areas” from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim “to open a place like this to the outside world”, “to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place”, shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the “remoteness”.Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration “of people in creative occupations” in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are “modern” and countries of origin “traditional”. Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the “western world”. On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal.

Language issues loom large in current debates on Italian identity/identities, indigenous minorities in Italy and, of course, immigration. While the context of language debates in early 21st century Italy presents new realities and challenges, the fundamental issues are the same as those originally defined by the first European language planner, Dante, and reworked by successive theorists. The debates turn on exclusions and inclusions, on levels of multiple identities, on understandings of otherness. It is no accident that language is at once as a provocation for debates on identity and a metaphor of those debates, for the tensions that run through the debates lie at the heart of language itself. All cultures have a narrative that explains diversity among languages and cultures, either as the result of a mistake or as divine punishment. The Biblical accounts of Creation, Babel and Pentecost provide the framework for European understandings of language diversity. These accounts capture the paradoxical nature of human language, which characterizes us a species and is a tool for building unity between persons and groups, but is, by its nature, always and inevitably an expression of diversity, in time and space. These contradictions are being played out in current language debates as emigration, return migration, internal migration and immigration elicit new constructions of ‘Italianness’, the literary canon and the social weight of the different varieties of language present on Italian soil and in Italian communities abroad.

The emigration of human resources leads to many losses for the labor expelling country. Such losses would, without doubt, adversely affect the economic and social development programs in multiple aspects including state loss of migrants efforts in producing the desired growth whether in the planning and preparation stages or in the implementation stage and the cost opportunity represented in the financial resources spent on the migrants prior to their emigration which could have been utilized in other areas taking into account, the limited financial resources in the underdeveloped countries which are mainly labor expelling countries. Hence, the loss of such countries is doubled. They neither benefited from their labor after years of spending in education and health, nor they saved their funds and exploited in other alternatives like improving education and health services, providing job opportunities for residents, improving the innovation climate or even increasing civil production to improve the living standards of individuals. The study is devoted to analyze and measure of economic effects of labor emigration in the labor expelling economy, through taking Egypt the largest Arab country suffering from this phenomenon- as an example and using data derived from Egyptian sources. Estimates have emphasized growing losses generated by the Egyptian labor emigration, especially by brain drain. The paper concludes that measures and policies must be adopted to stop this drain by addressing the causes of labor emigration or rather, the existing properties of the labor expelling country. Also, efforts must be made to ensure that data related to immigration is always available, updated and estimated by official bodies having human, financial and technical capabilities for this task.

Migration is one of important aspects of modern global world development, that includes many interrelated factors such as political, economic, social, cultural, etc. With recent trends, international migration is on the rise. Georgia has experienced a significant outflow of population caused by a sharp economic decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union in early 90s of 20th century. Many Georgian citizens migrated to the EU as labour migrants. After gaining the visa-free regime with the EU in 2017, the migration of Georgian citizens to the EU has increased. The reasons for emigration and immigration in Georgia do not differ from the rest of the world and are mainly caused by economic nature. The article presents the analysis and conclusions based on recent data gained by means of the sociological survey, which proves that the attitudes of Georgians towards migration mainly coincide with the approaches of Baltic States’ citizens. The survey results confirm that the experience of the Baltic States is valuable for Georgia. The outcomes demonstrate that it is more productive for Georgia to encourage the circular migration, which means promoting the employment of Georgian workers in the host countries, and later to support and facilitate their subsequent return to Georgia in order to apply the work experience and skills acquired abroad in Georgia.

AbstractThe objective of the present article is to highlight the need for attention to Quality of Life of patients with Sickle Cell Disease living in Italy. The transformation of sickle cell disease from a severe life-threatening disease of childhood into a chronic, lifelong condition due to the significant improvements in care and treatment options, imposes increasing new challenges to health care providers and patients. Patients now face physical, psychosocial and emotional challenges throughout their lives. They generally have to receive chronic treatments and regular multidisciplinary monitoring which increase social and emotional burden rendering adherence to treatment sometimes complicated. A chronic disease impacts all aspects of patients’ lives, not only the physical one, but also the social and emotional aspects as well as the educational and working life. The entire “Quality of Life” is affected and recent evidence demonstrates the importance quality of life has for patients with chronic illness. The results of this review focus on emerging data regarding quality of life across the lifespan of patients with Sickle Cell Disease, and highlight the need for more action in this field in Italy, where recent immigration and improved care determine an increasing population of children with sickle cell disease being taken into long term care.

BACKGROUND: Today, multiculturalism is present in all spheres of life. Teachers are at the forefront to first formally encounter children from different cultures, and as the first ones, children from different cultures will face it in their social life. Teachers are supposed to prepare students to meet and live with people from cultures different from their own. Hence, it is necessary to identify the competencies teachers need to work in an intercultural environment, given the globalising world where different cultures meet more often, coexist, and exchange values and ways of living. OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the teachers’ competencies to work in an intercultural environment and presents the results from data collected within the RoMigSc project. These data are analysed to identify the competencies teachers need to work in a multicultural environment. METHODS: In the study, data from the RoMigSc survey were used, where information on the inclusion of migrant students was collected using the survey questionnaire method. All analyses in this paper are on a descriptive level with exploratory purpose. RESULTS: The results show that teachers don’t feel well prepared to support learning or teach human rights, emigration and immigration, shared values and discrimination. They also need more support in teaching in an intercultural and multicultural environment, especially out-of-school support. CONCLUSIONS: In general, teachers find their school and own practices inclusive for migrant and Roma students, but not in all aspects. None of the teachers has participated in a project to raise awareness of Roma issues.

Introduction The highly contagious COVID-19 virus has presented particularly difficult public policy challenges. The relatively late emergence of an effective treatments and vaccines, the structural stresses on health care systems, the lockdowns and the economic dislocations, the evident structural inequalities in effected societies, as well as the difficulty of prevention have tested social and political cohesion. Moreover, the intrusive nature of many prophylactic measures have led to individual liberty and human rights concerns. As noted by the Victorian (Australia) Ombudsman Report on the COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne, we may be tempted, during a crisis, to view human rights as expendable in the pursuit of saving human lives. This thinking can lead to dangerous territory. It is not unlawful to curtail fundamental rights and freedoms when there are compelling reasons for doing so; human rights are inherently and inseparably a consideration of human lives. (5) These difficulties have raised issues about the importance of social or community capital in fighting the pandemic. This article discusses the impacts of social and community capital and other factors on the governmental efforts to combat the spread of infectious disease through the maintenance of social distancing and household ‘bubbles’. It argues that the beneficial effects of social and community capital towards fighting the pandemic, such as mutual respect and empathy, which underpins such public health measures as social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, and lockdowns in the USA, have been undermined as preventive measures because they have been transmogrified to become a salient aspect of the “culture wars” (Peters). In contrast, states that have relatively lower social capital such a China have been able to more effectively arrest transmission of the disease because the government was been able to generate and personify a nationalist response to the virus and thus generate a more robust social consensus regarding the efforts to combat the disease. Social Capital and Culture Wars The response to COVID-19 required individuals, families, communities, and other types of groups to refrain from extensive interaction – to stay in their bubble. In these situations, especially given the asymptomatic nature of many COVID-19 infections and the serious imposition lockdowns and social distancing and isolation, the temptation for individuals to breach public health rules in high. From the perspective of policymakers, the response to fighting COVID-19 is a collective action problem. In studying collective action problems, scholars have paid much attention on the role of social and community capital (Ostrom and Ahn 17-35). Ostrom and Ahn comment that social capital “provides a synthesizing approach to how cultural, social, and institutional aspects of communities of various sizes jointly affect their capacity of dealing with collective-action problems” (24). Social capital is regarded as an evolving social type of cultural trait (Fukuyama; Guiso et al.). Adger argues that social capital “captures the nature of social relations” and “provides an explanation for how individuals use their relationships to other actors in societies for their own and for the collective good” (387). The most frequently used definition of social capital is the one proffered by Putnam who regards it as “features of social organization, such as networks, norms and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit” (Putnam, “Bowling Alone” 65). All these studies suggest that social and community capital has at least two elements: “objective associations” and subjective ties among individuals. Objective associations, or social networks, refer to both formal and informal associations that are formed and engaged in on a voluntary basis by individuals and social groups. Subjective ties or norms, on the other hand, primarily stand for trust and reciprocity (Paxton). High levels of social capital have generally been associated with democratic politics and civil societies whose institutional performance benefits from the coordinated actions and civic culture that has been facilitated by high levels of social capital (Putnam, Democracy 167-9). Alternatively, a “good and fair” state and impartial institutions are important factors in generating and preserving high levels of social capital (Offe 42-87). Yet social capital is not limited to democratic civil societies and research is mixed on whether rising social capital manifests itself in a more vigorous civil society that in turn leads to democratising impulses. Castillo argues that various trust levels for institutions that reinforce submission, hierarchy, and cultural conservatism can be high in authoritarian governments, indicating that high levels of social capital do not necessarily lead to democratic civic societies (Castillo et al.). Roßteutscher concludes after a survey of social capita indicators in authoritarian states that social capital has little effect of democratisation and may in fact reinforce authoritarian rule: in nondemocratic contexts, however, it appears to throw a spanner in the works of democratization. Trust increases the stability of nondemocratic leaderships by generating popular support, by suppressing regime threatening forms of protest activity, and by nourishing undemocratic ideals concerning governance (752). In China, there has been ongoing debate concerning the presence of civil society and the level of social capital found across Chinese society. If one defines civil society as an intermediate associational realm between the state and the family, populated by autonomous organisations which are separate from the state that are formed voluntarily by members of society to protect or extend their interests or values, it is arguable that the PRC had a significant civil society or social capital in the first few decades after its establishment (White). However, most scholars agree that nascent civil society as well as a more salient social and community capital has emerged in China’s reform era. This was evident after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, where the government welcomed community organising and community-driven donation campaigns for a limited period of time, giving the NGO sector and bottom-up social activism a boost, as evidenced in various policy areas such as disaster relief and rural community development (F. Wu 126; Xu 9). Nevertheless, the CCP and the Chinese state have been effective in maintaining significant control over civil society and autonomous groups without attempting to completely eliminate their autonomy or existence. The dramatic economic and social changes that have occurred since the 1978 Opening have unsurprisingly engendered numerous conflicts across the society. In response, the CCP and State have adjusted political economic policies to meet the changing demands of workers, migrants, the unemployed, minorities, farmers, local artisans, entrepreneurs, and the growing middle class. Often the demands arising from these groups have resulted in policy changes, including compensation. In other circumstances, where these groups remain dissatisfied, the government will tolerate them (ignore them but allow them to continue in the advocacy), or, when the need arises, supress the disaffected groups (F. Wu 2). At the same time, social organisations and other groups in civil society have often “refrained from open and broad contestation against the regime”, thereby gaining the space and autonomy to achieve the objectives (F. Wu 2). Studies of Chinese social or community capital suggest that a form of modern social capital has gradually emerged as Chinese society has become increasingly modernised and liberalised (despite being non-democratic), and that this social capital has begun to play an important role in shaping social and economic lives at the local level. However, this more modern form of social capital, arising from developmental and social changes, competes with traditional social values and social capital, which stresses parochial and particularistic feelings among known individuals while modern social capital emphasises general trust and reciprocal feelings among both known and unknown individuals. The objective element of these traditional values are those government-sanctioned, formal mass organisations such as Communist Youth and the All-China Federation of Women's Associations, where members are obliged to obey the organisation leadership. The predominant subjective values are parochial and particularistic feelings among individuals who know one another, such as guanxi and zongzu (Chen and Lu, 426). The concept of social capital emphasises that the underlying cooperative values found in individuals and groups within a culture are an important factor in solving collective problems. In contrast, the notion of “culture war” focusses on those values and differences that divide social and cultural groups. Barry defines culture wars as increases in volatility, expansion of polarisation, and conflict between those who are passionate about religiously motivated politics, traditional morality, and anti-intellectualism, and…those who embrace progressive politics, cultural openness, and scientific and modernist orientations. (90) The contemporary culture wars across the world manifest opposition by various groups in society who hold divergent worldviews and ideological positions. Proponents of culture war understand various issues as part of a broader set of religious, political, and moral/normative positions invoked in opposition to “elite”, “liberal”, or “left” ideologies. Within this Manichean universe opposition to such issues as climate change, Black Lives Matter, same sex rights, prison reform, gun control, and immigration becomes framed in binary terms, and infused with a moral sensibility (Chapman 8-10). In many disputes, the culture war often devolves into an epistemological dispute about the efficacy of scientific knowledge and authority, or a dispute between “practical” and theoretical knowledge. In this environment, even facts can become partisan narratives. For these “cultural” disputes are often how electoral prospects (generally right-wing) are advanced; “not through policies or promises of a better life, but by fostering a sense of threat, a fantasy that something profoundly pure … is constantly at risk of extinction” (Malik). This “zero-sum” social and policy environment that makes it difficult to compromise and has serious consequences for social stability or government policy, especially in a liberal democratic society. Of course, from the perspective of cultural materialism such a reductionist approach to culture and political and social values is not unexpected. “Culture” is one of the many arenas in which dominant social groups seek to express and reproduce their interests and preferences. “Culture” from this sense is “material” and is ultimately connected to the distribution of power, wealth, and resources in society. As such, the various policy areas that are understood as part of the “culture wars” are another domain where various dominant and subordinate groups and interests engaged in conflict express their values and goals. Yet it is unexpected that despite the pervasiveness of information available to individuals the pool of information consumed by individuals who view the “culture wars” as a touchstone for political behaviour and a narrative to categorise events and facts is relatively closed. This lack of balance has been magnified by social media algorithms, conspiracy-laced talk radio, and a media ecosystem that frames and discusses issues in a manner that elides into an easily understood “culture war” narrative. From this perspective, the groups (generally right-wing or traditionalist) exist within an information bubble that reinforces political, social, and cultural predilections. American and Chinese Reponses to COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in Wuhan in December 2019. Initially unprepared and unwilling to accept the seriousness of the infection, the Chinese government regrouped from early mistakes and essentially controlled transmission in about three months. This positive outcome has been messaged as an exposition of the superiority of the Chinese governmental system and society both domestically and internationally; a positive, even heroic performance that evidences the populist credentials of the Chinese political leadership and demonstrates national excellence. The recently published White Paper entitled “Fighting COVID-19: China in Action” also summarises China’s “strategic achievement” in the simple language of numbers: in a month, the rising spread was contained; in two months, the daily case increase fell to single digits; and in three months, a “decisive victory” was secured in Wuhan City and Hubei Province (Xinhua). This clear articulation of the positive results has rallied political support. Indeed, a recent survey shows that 89 percent of citizens are satisfied with the government’s information dissemination during the pandemic (C Wu). As part of the effort, the government extensively promoted the provision of “political goods”, such as law and order, national unity and pride, and shared values. For example, severe publishments were introduced for violence against medical professionals and police, producing and selling counterfeit medications, raising commodity prices, spreading ‘rumours’, and being uncooperative with quarantine measures (Xu). Additionally, as an extension the popular anti-corruption campaign, many local political leaders were disciplined or received criminal charges for inappropriate behaviour, abuse of power, and corruption during the pandemic (People.cn, 2 Feb. 2020). Chinese state media also described fighting the virus as a global “competition”. In this competition a nation’s “material power” as well as “mental strength”, that calls for the highest level of nation unity and patriotism, is put to the test. This discourse recalled the global competition in light of the national mythology related to the formation of Chinese nation, the historical “hardship”, and the “heroic Chinese people” (People.cn, 7 Apr. 2020). Moreover, as the threat of infection receded, it was emphasised that China “won this competition” and the Chinese people have demonstrated the “great spirit of China” to the world: a result built upon the “heroism of the whole Party, Army, and Chinese people from all ethnic groups” (People.cn, 7 Apr. 2020). In contrast to the Chinese approach of emphasising national public goods as a justification for fighting the virus, the U.S. Trump Administration used nationalism, deflection, and “culture war” discourse to undermine health responses — an unprecedented response in American public health policy. The seriousness of the disease as well as the statistical evidence of its course through the American population was disputed. The President and various supporters raged against the COVID-19 “hoax”, social distancing, and lockdowns, disparaged public health institutions and advice, and encouraged protesters to “liberate” locked-down states (Russonello). “Our federal overlords say ‘no singing’ and ‘no shouting’ on Thanksgiving”, Representative Paul Gosar, a Republican of Arizona, wrote as he retweeted a Centers for Disease Control list of Thanksgiving safety tips (Weiner). People were encouraged, by way of the White House and Republican leadership, to ignore health regulations and not to comply with social distancing measures and the wearing of masks (Tracy). This encouragement led to threats against proponents of face masks such as Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s foremost experts on infectious diseases, who required bodyguards because of the many threats on his life. Fauci’s critics — including President Trump — countered Fauci’s promotion of mask wearing by stating accusingly that he once said mask-wearing was not necessary for ordinary people (Kelly). Conspiracy theories as to the safety of vaccinations also grew across the course of the year. As the 2020 election approached, the Administration ramped up efforts to downplay the serious of the virus by identifying it with “the media” and illegitimate “partisan” efforts to undermine the Trump presidency. It also ramped up its criticism of China as the source of the infection. This political self-centeredness undermined state and federal efforts to slow transmission (Shear et al.). At the same time, Trump chided health officials for moving too slowly on vaccine approvals, repeated charges that high infection rates were due to increased testing, and argued that COVID-19 deaths were exaggerated by medical providers for political and financial reasons. These claims were amplified by various conservative media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham of Fox News. The result of this “COVID-19 Denialism” and the alternative narrative of COVID-19 policy told through the lens of culture war has resulted in the United States having the highest number of COVID-19 cases, and the highest number of COVID-19 deaths. At the same time, the underlying social consensus and social capital that have historically assisted in generating positive public health outcomes has been significantly eroded. According to the Pew Research Center, the share of U.S. adults who say public health officials such as those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are doing an excellent or good job responding to the outbreak decreased from 79% in March to 63% in August, with an especially sharp decrease among Republicans (Pew Research Center 2020). Social Capital and COVID-19 From the perspective of social or community capital, it could be expected that the American response to the Pandemic would be more effective than the Chinese response. Historically, the United States has had high levels of social capital, a highly developed public health system, and strong governmental capacity. In contrast, China has a relatively high level of governmental and public health capacity, but the level of social capital has been lower and there is a significant presence of traditional values which emphasise parochial and particularistic values. Moreover, the antecedent institutions of social capital, such as weak and inefficient formal institutions (Batjargal et al.), environmental turbulence and resource scarcity along with the transactional nature of guanxi (gift-giving and information exchange and relationship dependence) militate against finding a more effective social and community response to the public health emergency. Yet China’s response has been significantly more successful than the Unites States’. Paradoxically, the American response under the Trump Administration and the Chinese response both relied on an externalisation of the both the threat and the justifications for their particular response. In the American case, President Trump, while downplaying the seriousness of the virus, consistently called it the “China virus” in an effort to deflect responsibly as well as a means to avert attention away from the public health impacts. As recently as 3 January 2021, Trump tweeted that the number of “China Virus” cases and deaths in the U.S. were “far exaggerated”, while critically citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's methodology: “When in doubt, call it COVID-19. Fake News!” (Bacon). The Chinese Government, meanwhile, has pursued a more aggressive foreign policy across the South China Sea, on the frontier in the Indian sub-continent, and against states such as Australia who have criticised the initial Chinese response to COVID-19. To this international criticism, the government reiterated its sovereign rights and emphasised its “victimhood” in the face of “anti-China” foreign forces. Chinese state media also highlighted China as “victim” of the coronavirus, but also as a target of Western “political manoeuvres” when investigating the beginning stages of the pandemic. The major difference, however, is that public health policy in the United States was superimposed on other more fundamental political and cultural cleavages, and part of this externalisation process included the assignation of “otherness” and demonisation of internal political opponents or characterising political opponents as bent on destroying the United States. This assignation of “otherness” to various internal groups is a crucial element in the culture wars. While this may have been inevitable given the increasingly frayed nature of American society post-2008, such a characterisation has been activity pushed by local, state, and national leadership in the Republican Party and the Trump Administration (Vogel et al.). In such circumstances, minimising health risks and highlighting civil rights concerns due to public health measures, along with assigning blame to the democratic opposition and foreign states such as China, can have a major impact of public health responses. The result has been that social trust beyond the bubble of one’s immediate circle or those who share similar beliefs is seriously compromised — and the collective action problem presented by COVID-19 remains unsolved. Daniel Aldrich’s study of disasters in Japan, India, and US demonstrates that pre-existing high levels of social capital would lead to stronger resilience and better recovery (Aldrich). Social capital helps coordinate resources and facilitate the reconstruction collectively and therefore would lead to better recovery (Alesch et al.). Yet there has not been much research on how the pool of social capital first came about and how a disaster may affect the creation and store of social capital. Rebecca Solnit has examined five major disasters and describes that after these events, survivors would reach out and work together to confront the challenges they face, therefore increasing the social capital in the community (Solnit). However, there are studies that have concluded that major disasters can damage the social fabric in local communities (Peacock et al.). The COVID-19 epidemic does not have the intensity and suddenness of other disasters but has had significant knock-on effects in increasing or decreasing social capital, depending on the institutional and social responses to the pandemic. In China, it appears that the positive social capital effects have been partially subsumed into a more generalised patriotic or nationalist affirmation of the government’s policy response. Unlike civil society responses to earlier crises, such as the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, there is less evidence of widespread community organisation and response to combat the epidemic at its initial stages. This suggests better institutional responses to the crisis by the government, but also a high degree of porosity between civil society and a national “imagined community” represented by the national state. The result has been an increased legitimacy for the Chinese government. Alternatively, in the United States the transformation of COVID-19 public health policy into a culture war issue has seriously impeded efforts to combat the epidemic in the short term by undermining the social consensus and social capital necessary to fight such a pandemic. Trust in American institutions is historically low, and President Trump’s untrue contention that President Biden’s election was due to “fraud” has further undermined the legitimacy of the American government, as evidenced by the attacks directed at Congress in the U.S. capital on 6 January 2021. As such, the lingering effects the pandemic will have on social, economic, and political institutions will likely reinforce the deep cultural and political cleavages and weaken interpersonal networks in American society. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated global public health and impacted deeply on the world economy. Unsurprisingly, given the serious economic, social, and political consequences, different government responses have been highly politicised. Various quarantine and infection case tracking methods have caused concern over state power intruding into private spheres. The usage of face masks, social distancing rules, and intra-state travel restrictions have aroused passionate debate over public health restrictions, individual liberty, and human rights. Yet underlying public health responses grounded in higher levels of social capital enhance the effectiveness of public health measures. In China, a country that has generally been associated with lower social capital, it is likely that the relatively strong policy response to COVID-19 will both enhance feelings of nationalism and Chinese exceptionalism and help create and increase the store of social capital. 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