Migration studies

AN INTRODUCTION

NUMBER OF MIGRANTS

• 77.114 million migrants 1960;• 115.558 in 1990; • 195.245 in 2005;• 213.943 in 2010

• Migrant defined as a person resident outside country of birth for 12 months or more

Human Development Reports (HDR) - United Nations Population Division (UNDP)

• Migrant defined as a person resident outside country of birth for 12 months or more

Migrant Stock - 1960 + 2010

• Africa: 9.175 – 19.191• Sub-Saharan Africa: 7.643 – 16.869• Asia: 28.494 – 61.324• Europe: 17.511 – 69.744• EU: 13.555 – 46.911• Latin America + Caribbean: 6.151 – 7.480• Northern America: 13.603 – 50.042• Arab States: 3.311 – 25.731

MIGRANT STOCK IS ALMOST EQUALLY DIVIDED INTO 3 TYPES

• NORTH ---53 MILLION---NORTH

• NORTH ---14 MILLION---SOUTH

• SOUTH ---61 MILLION---SOUTH

• SOUTH ---62 MILLION---NORTH

MIGRANTS CONSTITUTE HIGH PROPORTIONS OF THE POPULATION IN

FEW COUNTRIES

• (MIGRANTS AS PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION, 2005)

Migration Patterns

• Orderly Migration

• Family Riunification

• Irregular Migration

• 1. Smuggling

• 2. Trafficking

• Return migration

Migration Patterns (2)

• (ASYLUM Patterns)

• Forced Migration

• Resettlement

• Displacement

Categories - Single Individuals

• Stateless

• Displaced Person

• Asylum Seeker

Statelessness

• The term is defined according to international law: “stateless person” means a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law. Since only states can have nationals, a person whose status is recognised only by a non-state entity is by definition stateless.

Statelessness

• The phrase “considered as a national ... under the operation of its law” includes not only the letter of the law, but also the way in which the

law is applied by the state. A theoretical claim to nationality is inadequate to establish that a person is not stateless if in practice the person is not recognised as a

citizen by the state concerned.

Categories - Single Individuals

• Refugee

• Unaccompanied Minor … and

• Unaccompanied Minor- asylum seeker

Categories - Single Individuals

• Economic migrant - Migrant worker

• Female migration

• Frontier Worker

• Seasonal Worker

Categories - Single Individuals

• Illegal migrant - undocumented

• Unauthorised migrant

• Overstayers

Contemporary International Migration

General Trends

The globalization of migration The acceleration of migration The differentiation of migrationThe feminization of migrationThe growing politicization of migration

Governance of International Migration

• Not seen by governments as a central political issue

• Migrants divided up into categories

• Late 1980’s systematic attention

Europe’s immigration dilemma

Key Trends– Demographic: low fertility, ageing

population, high dependency ratios– Economic: future demand for both

highly-skilled and lower-skilled workers– Social: young Europeans less willing to

take low-skilled jobsRESULT: STRONG DEMAND FOR

MIGRANT WORKERS

Europe’s immigration dilemma

BUT migration is seen as a problem– Migrants and minorities: a threat

to security – Diasporas and transnationalism

thought to undermine nation-state

Industrial countries (still) want workers but not people

Migration as a problem:The myth of ‘invasion’

The myth of ‘invasion’ ?

The myth of ‘invasion’ ?

The myth of ‘invasion’ ?

Solutions of Northern states

• More border control• Differentiation of migrants:

different rules for highly-skilled, lower-skilled and refugees

• Temporary and circular migration

Solutions of Northern states

• Migration management – cooperation between northern and

southern governments• Migration and development:

– migration said to benefit countries of origin

Migration Process

Hardly ever a simple individual action

Migration is a long drawn out process

Migration is a collective action

Migration Process

Migration experience leads to modification of original plans

No government has ever set out to build an ethnically diverse society

Macro-meso-micro-structures …

No single cause ever sufficient to explain why people decide to leave their country and settle in anotherEssential to understand all aspects of migratory process - all these structures are intertwined ...

8 QUESTIONS

1. What factors have changed - country of origin - country of destination.

2. Opportunities for migrants3. Which social networks develop4. What structures exist to regulate

migration and settlement

8 QUESTIONS

5. How do migrants turn to settlers6. Effect of settlement on receiving

countries7. Effect of emigration on sending

countries8. New linkages between sending and

receiving countries

Migration Studies

• Preliminary remark: migration studies divided in two separate bodies

• Migration studies intrinsically inter-disciplinary

• Methodology: refers to underlying principles for research and analysis

8 Principles

1. Interdisciplinarity2. Historical understanding3. Comparative studies4. Holistic approach

8 Principles

5. Transnational dimensions of social transformation

6. Transnational research network

7. Human agency8. Participatory research

Migration - Settlement ?

Differentiate between economically motivated migration and forced migration.

Temporary migration intentions to permanent settlement.

No initial intention to settlement

Migration - Settlement ?

Maturing of migratory movement

Structural economic dependency on migrant labour