Local Migration Governance in European Shrinking Areas: a German and an Italian Case

Abstract

Governance represents the dynamics related to a society more densely integrated into flows and not one-dimensional hierarchy relations and embodies a more cooperative mode where state and non-state actors participate in mixed public/private networks. This research explores innovative perspectives in local governance, based on two case studies in rural, shrinking areas in Germany and Italy in quest of revitalisation and the emplacement of asylum seekers and refugees in their territories. Based on empirical situations inherent in the category of “shrinking areas,” the article aims to bring out points of tangency, useful for providing recommendations and future research directions that can relate local territorial realities, united by similar processes, belonging to a larger European scale. Methodologically, this is qualitative research, based on literature and document review, interviews with key actors, group discussion, and observant participation. We conclude that although the German and Italian realities are quite diverse in terms of their shrinking trajectory, the present challenges for the emplacement of migrants are similar, such as housing and employment hardship, and that governance follows diverse parameters: while in Germany, it is more structured and coordinated, with a clear distribution of roles (civil society actors follow the leadership of the political actors), in the Italian case, the leadership is sometimes contested mainly due to political instability at the national level and the consequent effects on the reception system, which is reduced in its operation.