Migration Processes in the Modern World as a Factor of Social and Cultural Transformation

Abstract

The article argues that modern migration processes bring about fundamental changes in host societies, which are associated not only with an increase in the proportion of migrants of different nationalities, religions and cultures, but also with socio-cultural transformations that threaten national identities and cultures. The countries of the European Union, which have received millions of migrants from the Middle East in recent decades, have faced a number of economic, social and cultural problems.

The article traces the reasons for the intensification of the flow of migrants to the European Union due to the destabilization of the situation in the Middle East (wars, revolutions, terrorist acts, demographic problems and lack of vital resources). It is proved that some migrants have difficulty adapting (or are not able to adapt) in host societies, and therefore, cultural and religious assimilation of European countries by migrants who not only try to preserve traditional forms and ways of life, but also try to spread their own way of life in host societies. That is why most EU countries that received migrants in previous decades faced the problem of social, cultural and religious transformations. The result of such transformations was, for example, the official recognition of Islam as the second state religion in France.

In addition, large flows of migrants require additional financial costs, such as social benefits, from host countries, undermining economic stability. Migrants bring their language, culture, values, and mentality to the societies where they settle, posing a threat to the identity of entire nations. That is why mass migration of people with different religion, culture and identity poses a number of threats to host societies. And these threats are quite delayed in time, and therefore difficult to predict.