The Migration Dynamics of the Slovenian Territory in Historical Perspective

The author presents an overview of the complex migration dynamics in Slovenia and its border regions over the last two hundred years. She covers migrations in “Austrian times”, during the First World War and the time of the first Yugoslavia, during the Second World War and the second Yugoslavia, and during the war in Yugoslavia and Slovenia’s gaining of independence. Both the intensive migration dynamics that occurred due to people’s seeking of employment and refuge, and the political movement of the borders, have been construed in migration studies as highly complex phenomena. This poses numerous challenges for interpreting how to understand migrations in 21st-century migration studies.
KEY WORDS: migration dynamics, political movement of borders, migration studies, seeking employment and refuge

The author presents an overview of migration dynamics in the territory of modern day Slovenia and its border regions over the last two hundred years, showing how its population was involved in the dynamics of migration flows. People either moved across the borders or relocated within the country, and occasionally the borders themselves moved. The author thus presents an overview of the complexity of the immigration-emigration i.e. migration dynamics by tying in the topically narrower perspectives of individual authors and the multifaceted image of migration dynamics right up to the present day.The author discusses migrations during “Austrian times”, during the First World War and the time of the first Yugoslavia, during the Second World War and the second Yugoslavia, and during the war in Yugoslavia and Slovenia’s gaining of independence. We can conclude from her systematic overview that the intensive migration dynamics that occurred through people’s seeking work and refuge, and the political movement of the borders, have been construed in migration studies as highly complex phenomena. This poses numerous challenges for interpreting how to understand migrations in the Slovenian territory in 21st-century migration studies.