Editorial: Re/migration as a resource: development, democratization, and innovation

The first strand examines human capital transfer, especially the inflow of skills and entrepreneurial experience as forms of economic capital. In their study on Bulgaria, Vassileva and Pamporov move beyond the narrow focus on remittances to highlight two key features of contemporary European mobility:• Returning migrants bring "cognitive resources"-new skills, professional networks, and innovative business ideas (Vassileva Ridwan et al., 2026), while qualitative studies reveal the social costs of migration and underscore the need for flexible institutional frameworks. Together, they demonstrate how mobility can be transformed into a sustainable resource for development (Díaz et al., 2026;Kotlyarevskyy et al., 2025;Vassileva & Pamporov, 2026). Reconceptualizing migration from a problem to be managed into a resource to be harnessed shifts policy from short-term, ad hoc measures to long-term, strategic solutions. Migrants are drivers of development whose savings, accumulated skills, and networks can stimulate innovation, sustainability, and democratic quality-provided that public institutions create the conditions for these resources to be fully utilized.