Professor Neli Demireva
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Email
nvdem@essex.ac.uk -
Location
Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the 黑料网. My research focuses on local communities, migration, inter-ethnic ties, ethnic penalties, social cohesion, trust and multiculturalism. In particular, I am interested in how local communities respond to different challenges and the practical ways adopted by individuals and institutions to solve common problems. I currently work on several topics exploring local area effects in relation to food insecurity, migration, and social trust. My book 鈥淗ow Urban Food Growing Projects Can Transform Local Communities; Understanding Local Responses to Sustainability and Food Insecurity Challenges鈥� is currently scheduled to come out in early 2027 with Bristol University Press. Drawing on ethnographic work, field notes and in-depth interviews with volunteers at community-based agroecology projects and community gardens, the book highlights the importance of urban food growing initiatives and alternative food networks. You can read more about these projects in the research section of this website. I hold several roles. I am the Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the 黑料网. I am founding Series Editor, together with my colleague Melissa Phillips, of The Emerald Studies in Migration Research, Policy and Practice. This series is designed to explore the multifaceted dimensions of migration (both voluntary and forced migration) with a focus on the implications of migration on policy and practice across various global contexts. I sit on the International Editorial Board of Ethnic and Racial Studies and the Advisory Board of the Human Rights Centre at the 黑料网. I am Commissioner in the Essex Climate Action Commission, an independent body set up by Essex County Council to advise on how best to tackle the climate challenge and become a net zero emissions county. My book, Pioneering Social Research, with Paul Thompson and Ken Plummer, is out now with Policy Press. My research has been featured by the Independent, TEDx, LSE Politics and Policy Blog, the Migration Observatory, CORDIS, in the Guardian. I have been invited to speak at the European Ideas Network Seminar at the European Parliament, the European Commission and at the Global Empowerment Meeting 2018 of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Qualifications
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2005-2009 DPhil in Sociology, University of Oxford, St.Johns College. Thesis: Ethnic Penalties, Job Search and the British Labour Market
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2004-2005 MSc in Sociology, University of Oxford, St. Johns College. Thesis: Ethnic Intermarriage in Britain
Appointments
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Director | Centre for Migration Studies, 黑料网 (1/1/2025 - 1/1/2025)
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Director of Research, Sociology & Criminology Department, 黑料网 (1/8/2025 - 1/4/2025)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
social cohesion
multiculturalism and civic integration
crime and neighbourhood effects
job search and labour market inclusion
Current research
inter-ethnic ties
social cohesion
ethnic penalties and multiculturalism
Conferences and presentations
Labour market integration of migrants 鈥� challenges for the local level
Invited presentation, EU Regions week 2019 organized by the European Commission and the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, 8/10/2019
In-migration, out-migration: the last 25 years in Central Europe
Invited presentation, European Ideas Network Seminar, Mr. Paulo Rangel MEP Vice Chairman of the EPP group, Brussels, Belgium, 6/12/2018
Global Empowerment Meeting, Harvard Kennedy School/Centre for International Development: E PLURIBUS UNUM: How to overcome the tension between diversity and social cohesion to make the most of 鈥楿s鈥�
Invited presentation, Global Empowerment Meeting, Harvard Kennedy School/Centre for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, United States, 17/4/2018
28th -29th September 2017. University of Amsterdam, Department of Sociology Amsterdam Centre for Inequality Studies (AMCIS) Ethnic inequality in the labour market: Cross-national perspectives and causal analysis, with Wouter Zwysen: Does the ethnic composition of a local area affect the labour market outcomes of the majority, migrants and minorities in Europe (Paper presentation)
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2017
12th-15th of August, 2017. ASA Annual Meeting Montreal, Cultural barriers to the successful integration of minorities in Britain (Paper presentation)
Montreal, Canada, 2017
7th-10th of August, 2017. RC28 New York, The Labour Market Incorporation of Migrant Women: A cross-nationally comparative analysis based on the European Social Values Survey (Paper presentation)
New York, United States, 2017
19th-22nd of August, 2016. ASA Annual Meeting, Seattle. Types and context of minority bonding and bridging and the role of networks in the integration process (Paper presentation)
Seattle, United States, 2016
27th of May, 2016. RC28 Singapore. The role of associational bonding and associational bridging in facilitating minority involvement and Integration (with Ananthi Al Ramiah) (Paper presentation)
Singapore, Singapore, 2016
18th of May, 2016. Invited Presentation. Ties that bind and ties that dont an examination of the role of social ties, neighbourhood embeddedness and social cohesion outcomes. CREST, Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique, Paris (Paper presentation)
Paris, France, 2016
October, 2014. TedX talk, Lakeside theatre Multiculturalism: Dead or Alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cusOg1CaO48 (Outreach event_
Colchester, United Kingdom, 2014
November, 2014. A series of public talks and outreach events on Betting shops and local communities, Colchester, Clacton Town Hall as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences.) (Outreach event)
Colchester, United Kingdom, 2014
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Race, Ethnicity and Migration (SC308)
Current supervision
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 18/10/2024
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 7/12/2018
Degree subject: Sociological Research
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 21/6/2018
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 9/1/2018
Publications
Journal articles (15)
Demireva, N. and Iacono, SL., (2025). . Acta Sociologica. 68 (2), 238-259
Demireva, N. and Zwysen, W., (2022). . European Societies. 24 (1), 83-110
Demireva, N. and Zwysen, W., (2021). . Frontiers in Sociology. 6
Zwysen, W. and Demireva, N., (2020). . Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 46 (1), 200-221
Demireva, N., (2019). . Social Inclusion. 7 (4), 299-308
Demireva, N. and Quassoli, F., (2019). . Social Inclusion. 7 (4), 1-6
Russell Jonsson, K. and Demireva, N., (2018). . Social Science and Medicine. 204 (C), 108-116
Demireva, N. and Fellini, I., (2018). . Social Inclusion. 6 (3), 1-5
Demireva, N. and Lo Iacono, S., (2018). . Social Inclusion. 6 (3), 142-152
Demireva, N. and Zwysen, W., (2018). . Social Inclusion. 6 (3), 6-33
Demireva, N. and Heath, A., (2017). . Social Inclusion. 5 (1), 20-31
Demireva, N. and Heath, A., (2014). . Sociology. 48 (4), 643-662
Heath, A. and Demireva, N., (2014). . Ethnic and Racial Studies. 37 (1), 161-180
Demireva, N. and Kesler, C., (2011). . International Journal of Comparative Sociology. 52 (4), 306-326
Demireva, N., (2011). . Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 37 (4), 637-655
Books (3)
Demireva, N., (2027). How Urban Food Growing Projects Can Transform Local Communities. Bristol University Press
Carrabine, E., Demireva, N., Ryan-Flood, R. and South, N., (2026). Stories, Imaginations and Sociology Essays in Honour of Ken Plummer. Routledge. 1032896493. 9781032896496
Thompson, P., Plummer, K. and Demireva, N., (2021). . Policy Press. 1447333527. 9781447333524
Book chapters (5)
Demireva, N. and Thompson, P., (2026). Embracing the 鈥楢ha鈥� Moments to Forge a Rich Research Life. In: Stories, Imaginations and Sociology. Editors: Demireva, N., Carrabine, E., Ryan-Flood, R. and South, N., . Routledge
Demireva, N., (2021). On Voluntary Associations and New Avenues for Research on Social Trust. In: Trust Matters. Hart Publishing. 159- 176. 9781509935253
Demireva, N. and Heath, A., (2015). . In: Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital. Editors: Li, Y., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 126- 144. 978 0 85793 584 7
Demireva, N. and Heath, A., (2015). Informal, associational bonding and associational bridging: which ties matter most for minority involvement and integration?. In: Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital Handbooks of Research Methods and Applications. 126- 144
Demireva, N., (2014). . In: Social Cohesion - Addressing Social Divides in Europe and Asia. Editors: Hofmeister, W. and Rueppel, P., . Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung and European Union. 161- 174. 978-981-09-2115-6
Conferences (1)
Kesler, C. and Demireva, N., (2011).
Reports and Papers (2)
Demireva, N., (2022).
Demireva, N. and Zwysen, W., (2020).
Grants and funding
2025
To create a feminist evaluation framework to support new reach and to demonstrate the huge personal and societal impact being involved in guide inspired activity can have on girls, as well as to diversify and increase income streams
Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board)
2023
Lived religion and socioeconomic mobility among second-generation Nigerian Pentecostals in London
British Academy
2022
Identifying the economic and social impacts of migration in Britain
Leverhulme Trust
2020
The impact of a community farm on community social cohesion: the case of CoFarm
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2019
The Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC)
Economic and Social Research Council
2017
A technical meeting on Migrant and minority integration (showcasing the work of GEMM organised together with DG TRD in Brussels)
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2015
GEMM
European Commission (H2020)
2014
Understanding the Ecology of Disadvantage: Betting Agents, Crime and the British Neighbourhood
The British Academy