The research incorporated in this programme aims to reveal the transformations in migratory patterns in light of the globalisation process. It centres less on the phenomenon of the mobility itself, which is thoroughly studied by geographers who focus on the spatial dimensions, pathways and networks of the migrations, but focuses rather on the social forms and processes that these movements generate. The research concentrates on new social bonds stemming from contemporary international migratory patterns, on the new opportunities or dominations generated by the latter and on the redefinitions engendered in terms of collective identifications. Other research looks into the social changes in the societies from which the migrants depart: from the breakdown of former patterns of solidarity to the emergence of new types of social bonds constituted around local issues or immersed within international networks.
