Lecture 1 - Introduction and structures of migration
“Quite literally, international migration has changed the face of societies. The commonality of the
situations lies in the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of many immigrant-receiving societies, and
the dilemmas that arise for states and communities in finding ways to respond to these changes”
Why geography?
1. Geographical inequalities and differences are crucial to understand human mobility between
places.
Migration is a human response to the geography of uneven development, but not only forced migration.
Intra-regional migration seems to be the dominant pattern.
Key concepts: Space, place, nodes, friction of distance, territoriality and scale/scalar approaches
2. Migration affects living spaces in the physical and social sense (in multiple places, at the same
time).
Concentration/attraction of particular populations → segregation: planning mechanism = mix →
gentrification. How to attract the right migrants? → question that's asked by cities → social
engineering.
Social spaces: migrants are not attached to one place only → transnationalism → binds
together cities.
3. Both the facilitation as well as control of migration have “complex geographies” in terms of
scales, networks, and actors.
Territory = space that is bounded and claimed
Territoriality = shown by flags etc.
The outsourced border: The scattered geography of the border regime and the mixed responsibility of
the border actors that includes “reception and rejection, care and coercion”.
Migration is a ‘networked’ phenomenon: Social networks, Migration industry.
4. Lived geographies (e.g. spatial imaginations, cultural globalization, exclusion, othering,
citizenship, identity) are inherent aspects of the migration process.
Friction of distance and relative distance. Displacement = the lacking of an attachment to a place.
Stratified citizenship → not only a piece of paper but also a feeling. What kind of migrant
are you? What experience do you get as a migrant?
Structures of migration
1. Political structures: geo-historical relations, colonial fault lines, power & globalization
(governance)
Unequal distribution of mobility → passports. Mobility has become one of the most stratifying
factors of our globalizing world.
To what extent are states still in control of migration?
- Shifting up = all responcibilities are regional / national
- Shifting down = some sesponcibilities are local
- Shifting out = shifting to commercial actions / 3rd party
2. Economic structures (neoliberalism): (Global) capitalism, global cities, labor markets
Skilled migration programs → not migrants decide where people go, but markets do.
Dual labor market theories / structuralist approaches. Global cities attract high-up sectors and those
need migrants for the ‘dirty’ jobs.
3. Social structures: Norms, cultures, cultural archives
Social networks matter, why do we leave our parents at 18/19 years old? Exploring the world, social
pathways.
Conclusion: Migration is inherently geographical. Migration impacts societies ‘here’, ‘there’ and
,’along the way’. Migration as a selective process. Migrant decision-making is important, but they
don’t happen in a vacuum.
Lecture 2 - Approaches
IDP’s = Internally displaced people
Trends concerning
- Migrants and their characteristics
- Migration as a process
- Migrants and migration as part of larger/overarching processes‘
Categorising’ approaches to migration
- creation/initiation vs. the ‘journey’
- explanatory vs. critical
- deterministic vs. integrative‘
‘Comparing’ approaches on
- substantive focus
- unit of analysis
- spatial assumptions
Ravenstein’s laws of migration
- Size based on ‘tension’ between origin and destination (gravity model)
- Migrant ‘has’ to move
- Each flow causes a ‘counter’-flow
- Most migration is short-distance
- Long-distance mainly to larger destination centers
- More migration from rural compared to urban
- More women than men
Neo-classical explanations
Rational choice approaches, based on push and pull factors and deterministic
Macro-level and Micro-level
Increasing sophistication
- Bounded rationality (we take into account that we don’t know everything)
- Transaction costs
- Human capital (not every migrant has the same capital)
- Networks/institutions
Remains intrinsically a push-pull model taking into account origin and (possible) destination
Putting the migrant first
Behavioral approaches with individual decision-making, based on cognition, perception, interpretation
and emotions. From (economic) optimizers to (socio-cultural) satisfiers. Questioning ‘why’ and ‘when’
(next to ‘where to’). The unit of analysis is individual.
Embedded individuals
New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM). Questioning the level of individuality in
decision making. Households, family and community are considered (equally) important. Shared
(communal) strategies to minimize risks and secure living (diversification of scares resources)
, Labor market dictates
Dual labour market and segmented labour market (based on wages and skills). Global city hypothesis.
Understanding the persistence of informal job-sector. Immigrant entrepreneurship: creating their own job
opportunities.
(Global) structures are steered by and steer migration
Structuralist approaches (macro or political-economy approaches)
- ‘Political’ driven
- Dependency
- Articulation of modes of production
- World System
- ‘Economy’ driven
- Globalization
- Global-cities (dual labor market)
- Neo-liberalism
Migration in integrative approaches
Not primarily developed to understand migration itself. Dealing with migration is often ‘collateral’. What
does migration add? How can we get (additional) understanding?
- Social networks, Transnationalism, Gender-awareness, Structuration, Migration-development
nexus, Forced migration studies, Migration and environment
Beyond grand theories?
Migration as part of a (global) social transformation process
- Mobility is part and parcel of ‘normal’ life
- Mobility is not the ‘aberration’ and exception (sedentary bias)
- Need for mid-range applied approaches and theories
What about immobility?
Internationally mobile people are still a small minority. Understanding immobility then might be just as
important. Mobility must first be ‘recognized’ as an option. ‘Aspirations’should also be looked at.
Threshold-approach (‘stress’, there must be a form of stress when thinking about migrating.
“Quite literally, international migration has changed the face of societies. The commonality of the
situations lies in the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of many immigrant-receiving societies, and
the dilemmas that arise for states and communities in finding ways to respond to these changes”
Why geography?
1. Geographical inequalities and differences are crucial to understand human mobility between
places.
Migration is a human response to the geography of uneven development, but not only forced migration.
Intra-regional migration seems to be the dominant pattern.
Key concepts: Space, place, nodes, friction of distance, territoriality and scale/scalar approaches
2. Migration affects living spaces in the physical and social sense (in multiple places, at the same
time).
Concentration/attraction of particular populations → segregation: planning mechanism = mix →
gentrification. How to attract the right migrants? → question that's asked by cities → social
engineering.
Social spaces: migrants are not attached to one place only → transnationalism → binds
together cities.
3. Both the facilitation as well as control of migration have “complex geographies” in terms of
scales, networks, and actors.
Territory = space that is bounded and claimed
Territoriality = shown by flags etc.
The outsourced border: The scattered geography of the border regime and the mixed responsibility of
the border actors that includes “reception and rejection, care and coercion”.
Migration is a ‘networked’ phenomenon: Social networks, Migration industry.
4. Lived geographies (e.g. spatial imaginations, cultural globalization, exclusion, othering,
citizenship, identity) are inherent aspects of the migration process.
Friction of distance and relative distance. Displacement = the lacking of an attachment to a place.
Stratified citizenship → not only a piece of paper but also a feeling. What kind of migrant
are you? What experience do you get as a migrant?
Structures of migration
1. Political structures: geo-historical relations, colonial fault lines, power & globalization
(governance)
Unequal distribution of mobility → passports. Mobility has become one of the most stratifying
factors of our globalizing world.
To what extent are states still in control of migration?
- Shifting up = all responcibilities are regional / national
- Shifting down = some sesponcibilities are local
- Shifting out = shifting to commercial actions / 3rd party
2. Economic structures (neoliberalism): (Global) capitalism, global cities, labor markets
Skilled migration programs → not migrants decide where people go, but markets do.
Dual labor market theories / structuralist approaches. Global cities attract high-up sectors and those
need migrants for the ‘dirty’ jobs.
3. Social structures: Norms, cultures, cultural archives
Social networks matter, why do we leave our parents at 18/19 years old? Exploring the world, social
pathways.
Conclusion: Migration is inherently geographical. Migration impacts societies ‘here’, ‘there’ and
,’along the way’. Migration as a selective process. Migrant decision-making is important, but they
don’t happen in a vacuum.
Lecture 2 - Approaches
IDP’s = Internally displaced people
Trends concerning
- Migrants and their characteristics
- Migration as a process
- Migrants and migration as part of larger/overarching processes‘
Categorising’ approaches to migration
- creation/initiation vs. the ‘journey’
- explanatory vs. critical
- deterministic vs. integrative‘
‘Comparing’ approaches on
- substantive focus
- unit of analysis
- spatial assumptions
Ravenstein’s laws of migration
- Size based on ‘tension’ between origin and destination (gravity model)
- Migrant ‘has’ to move
- Each flow causes a ‘counter’-flow
- Most migration is short-distance
- Long-distance mainly to larger destination centers
- More migration from rural compared to urban
- More women than men
Neo-classical explanations
Rational choice approaches, based on push and pull factors and deterministic
Macro-level and Micro-level
Increasing sophistication
- Bounded rationality (we take into account that we don’t know everything)
- Transaction costs
- Human capital (not every migrant has the same capital)
- Networks/institutions
Remains intrinsically a push-pull model taking into account origin and (possible) destination
Putting the migrant first
Behavioral approaches with individual decision-making, based on cognition, perception, interpretation
and emotions. From (economic) optimizers to (socio-cultural) satisfiers. Questioning ‘why’ and ‘when’
(next to ‘where to’). The unit of analysis is individual.
Embedded individuals
New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM). Questioning the level of individuality in
decision making. Households, family and community are considered (equally) important. Shared
(communal) strategies to minimize risks and secure living (diversification of scares resources)
, Labor market dictates
Dual labour market and segmented labour market (based on wages and skills). Global city hypothesis.
Understanding the persistence of informal job-sector. Immigrant entrepreneurship: creating their own job
opportunities.
(Global) structures are steered by and steer migration
Structuralist approaches (macro or political-economy approaches)
- ‘Political’ driven
- Dependency
- Articulation of modes of production
- World System
- ‘Economy’ driven
- Globalization
- Global-cities (dual labor market)
- Neo-liberalism
Migration in integrative approaches
Not primarily developed to understand migration itself. Dealing with migration is often ‘collateral’. What
does migration add? How can we get (additional) understanding?
- Social networks, Transnationalism, Gender-awareness, Structuration, Migration-development
nexus, Forced migration studies, Migration and environment
Beyond grand theories?
Migration as part of a (global) social transformation process
- Mobility is part and parcel of ‘normal’ life
- Mobility is not the ‘aberration’ and exception (sedentary bias)
- Need for mid-range applied approaches and theories
What about immobility?
Internationally mobile people are still a small minority. Understanding immobility then might be just as
important. Mobility must first be ‘recognized’ as an option. ‘Aspirations’should also be looked at.
Threshold-approach (‘stress’, there must be a form of stress when thinking about migrating.
