Social Mobility: Concepts, Policies and Human Rights

Although the migration phenomenon is extremely mediated and has been analyzed in countless studies, there are still many ambiguities with regard to conceptualization, the integration of the term in the related field(s) and the development of public policies that would respond to the actual needs triggered by the phenomenon. This study aims at providing conceptual disambiguation, at establishing a historical and epistemic framework and, last but not least, at pointing to a series of anthropological aspects that have been correlated with the evolution of public policies and the respect for individual rights for the past six decades. As a starting point for our study, migration is regarded as a natural historical phenomenon that needs to be accepted and integrated in our contemporary life, as an ingrate component of globalization. Any public policy must be based on the fundamental principle according to which human life stands above anything. Moreover, we have emphasized the need to overcome two profoundly preconceived images of the immigrant that have dominated the collective imaginary for a long time: the intruder/invader and the slave.