Mr Liran Morav

I am interested in the social capital dimensions of immigrant integration - including the role of ethnic and family networks, ethnic minority associations, charity organizations, and state aid in the immigrant integration process. My own research covers ethnic minority integration in Europe, with a particular emphasis on Jewish (‘postcolonial') immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

I use Problem-centred interviews, historical (i.e. archival) analysis and social network analysis to understand how different forms of social/ethnic capital facilitate the integration of minority-ethnic immigrants in Britain and France. This is analysed against the backdrop of the broader postcolonial histories that have  shaped postcolonial immigrants’ integration trajectories in Western Europe. 

Beyond my academic research I am a long-time executive member of the Cambridge Migration Society, where I have worked to promote discussion and awareness of migration-related issues through a variety of events aimed at academics and the larger Cambridge public. 

Finally, I am also a research coordinator of an ongoing European study of low-skill migration in Germany, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Designed as a collaboration between European academics and Brussels-based NGOs, the project aims to develop policy recommendations on how EU countries can promote social cohesion and integration in communities that host a high number of migrants workers in the care and agricultural sectors.