Chapter 1 introduction
The book tries to answer migration questions through a geographical/ spatial perspective. It
looks at connections between countries and networks as well.
Social networks allow migrants to communicate the values of particular destinations to other
would-be migrants. Also the interaction between the migrants and the governments of the
countries they go to.
Migrant stories and key terms and categories in the study of migration and immigration.
Migrancy - The suggestion that migration is a complicated, challenging and diverse
phenomenon involving changing statuses.
Distinction between internal and international migration:
Internal migration - people who move within their own country
International migration - the act of people moving across international boundaries from state
to state.
Temporary migration - Migrants who stay between 3-12 months in a country.
Circular migration - returning to the same country over and over.
Staying in another country without naturalizing makes you an immigrant rather than a migrant.
Migrant is used for people who stay somewhere more temporarily.
Forced vs Voluntary migration
Forced migrants are often forced to migrate due to poverty or low wages; this is commonly also
referred to as economic migration. IDP’s (Internally displaced persons) are forced to move
within their own country; asylum seekers and refugees are forced to move to other countries.
The main convention protecting refugees is the convention relating to the status of refugees in
the United Nations. Asylum Seekers are explicitly people who claim asylum while trying to
enter a country. A government then has to grant them that. Someone can also enter a country
illegally and request asylum right after.
A refoulement is when a refugee is returned to a country where they face persecution without
due process. When asylum is granted the refugee often enjoys the same level of freedom as a
legal migrant. There is no globally accepted definition of skilled and unskilled migration. Not
all governments recognize the skills of the people who migrate somewhere.
,Key issues and debates concerning migration
The causes and consequence of migration
There are a lot of push and pull factors when it comes to migration. Low skilled migration or low
income migration is usually seen as a bad thing by governments.
The question of employment for migrants
Work is important for migrants' livelihoods; but migrants do not always engage in waged labour.
Most migrants are assigned the most low paid agricultural jobs; regardless of their skills. This is
due to them lacking the necessary education, qualifications or skills to compete on the job
market. The work they do if often informal in character.
The conflicted task of governing migration
A third issue is how various levels or scales of governments reply to migration. When migration
and other social phenomena are regulated at and through various levels of government this is
referred to as governance. They also use the term to refer to the growing role played by private
companies and civil society groups in responding to migration; this is often referred to as the
migration industry. One part of society encourages it while the other discourages it. A lot of
countries struggle on meeting the dictates of the Geneva convention and simultaneously limiting
the number of asylum seekers.
The question of citizenship and belonging for and among migrants
A final issue concerns citizenship and what often is called belonging. One of the fundamental
desires for many migrants is obtaining legal citizenship in a country of immigration. Different
states and cities have different regulations and laws for this. Some countries’ citizenship is
obtained easier than others.
Substantive citizenship can be understood as the issues that concern the daily lives of
immigrants: matters of family, finding an adequate place to live and work, choosing decent and
appropriate schools, participating in organisations and events. These things are challenged by
racism or expectations of certain kinds of cultural behaviour. The ability to express their identity
is often a concern for many migrants.
GLOBAL TENDENCIES AND ESTIMATED PATTERNS OF MIGRATION ACROSS THE
GLOBE
6 trends associated with migration
, 1. roughly 67 per cent of all international migrants are concentrated in just 20 destination
countries, and about two thirds of all international migrants live in Europe and Asia. This
is part of the globalisation of migration.
2. The changing direction of dominant migration flows to the gulf countries like dubai and
kuwait.
3. The differentiation of migration (diversification of types and modes of entry discussed)
4. The proliferation of migration transition. Long time countries of migration have become
countries of transit of more permanent immigration.
5. The feminization of labour migration
6. The growing politicisation of migration.
The focus is on two aspects: globalisation of migration and the changing direction of migration
flows in order to provide the reader with some idea of the number of migrants. These patterns
we seek to explain.
The percentage of migrants as a percentage of the world's total population has remained stable
since 1960.
With the exception of maybe Australia, there are grounds for making the case that migrants’
countries of origin have diversified, while their ‘destinations’ have narrowed, especially since the
post-WWII period in the wealthier countries. From the 1950’s to about the 1980’s most
migrations to wealthier countries could be labelled as post-colonial or neo-colonial in character;
consisting of people migrating from former European colonies to the former colonial powers.
Social theory, spatial concepts and the study of migration
For many social scientists the concept of structures, institutions, agents and social networks
provide the fundamental of conventional elements of what is called social theory. Most
contested are the structures. For structuralist (functionalist) thinkers, structures are like the
skeleton of a building. They’re capable of either enabling or constraining human behaviour.
Structuralist thinkers attribute causal power to abstractions that in fact didn’t exist nor had
causal power.
In the book they view global capitalism as a set of forces that has a relatively fixed architecture
and which does impel people to migrate from poorer to richer countries alongside the idea that
the global economy itself is composed of institutions, individuals and social networks that make
the rules and control resources.
A second frequently used concept is that of institution. Institutions can be organisations like the
US department of Homeland security or a school or a help centre. These institutions deploy a
wide range of technologies in order to exercise power and control over policy domains and
people. Institutions also relate to less tangible entities like marriage, the family, households and
other forms of social arrangement.
, The thirds concept or category is agents which are human groups and individuals. Agents are
shaped by institutions and structures. They have agency which means they have capabilities,
behaviours and practices of individuals or groups. They can and do exercise power to shape
structures, institutions or other agents. The idea of social networks has become popular in the
social sciences and particularly in migration studies to overcome dualisms like ‘global/local’ and
‘macro/micro’.
Social Networks are generally defined as webs of interpersonal interactions commonly
comprised of relatives, friends or other associations forged through social and economic
activities that act as conduits through which information, influence and resources flow. These
networks can assume many forms, from relationships of kin to relations between institutions.
These networks maybe unofficial and invisible and often include weak ties. They may be
beneficial to migrants’ well being as they strengthen social capital and acces to other networks.
Spatial concepts and the study of migration
In migration studies we’re motivated by a spatial dilemma created by two seemingly opposed
concepts. On one hand is the problem of taking the nation-state as the starting point or basic
lens for analysing migration issues; which has been called ‘embedded nation-statism’or
methodical nationalism. This refers to the ongoing academic practice of viewing social
processes through the lens of the nation-state despite more than a decades critique of this
particular perspective. On the other hand there are the limitations of what might be labelled as
methodological nationalism. A solution to these limitations is thinking in terms of territories
and networks together.
5 spatial concepts essential to understanding migration
- Place
- Nodes
- Friction of distance
- Territory and territoriality
- Scale and scalar
Meanings of space
Space has no meaning by itself; so we have to speak about socio-spatial relations. In other
words, how space and society interact. Lefevbre developed a triadic understanding of space
involving ‘spacial practice’, ‘representations of space’ and ‘spaces of representation’.
Spatial practice refers to the physical and material production and use of space in everyday
life. It encompasses the routines, activities, and interactions through which individuals and
groups navigate and inhabit the world.
The book tries to answer migration questions through a geographical/ spatial perspective. It
looks at connections between countries and networks as well.
Social networks allow migrants to communicate the values of particular destinations to other
would-be migrants. Also the interaction between the migrants and the governments of the
countries they go to.
Migrant stories and key terms and categories in the study of migration and immigration.
Migrancy - The suggestion that migration is a complicated, challenging and diverse
phenomenon involving changing statuses.
Distinction between internal and international migration:
Internal migration - people who move within their own country
International migration - the act of people moving across international boundaries from state
to state.
Temporary migration - Migrants who stay between 3-12 months in a country.
Circular migration - returning to the same country over and over.
Staying in another country without naturalizing makes you an immigrant rather than a migrant.
Migrant is used for people who stay somewhere more temporarily.
Forced vs Voluntary migration
Forced migrants are often forced to migrate due to poverty or low wages; this is commonly also
referred to as economic migration. IDP’s (Internally displaced persons) are forced to move
within their own country; asylum seekers and refugees are forced to move to other countries.
The main convention protecting refugees is the convention relating to the status of refugees in
the United Nations. Asylum Seekers are explicitly people who claim asylum while trying to
enter a country. A government then has to grant them that. Someone can also enter a country
illegally and request asylum right after.
A refoulement is when a refugee is returned to a country where they face persecution without
due process. When asylum is granted the refugee often enjoys the same level of freedom as a
legal migrant. There is no globally accepted definition of skilled and unskilled migration. Not
all governments recognize the skills of the people who migrate somewhere.
,Key issues and debates concerning migration
The causes and consequence of migration
There are a lot of push and pull factors when it comes to migration. Low skilled migration or low
income migration is usually seen as a bad thing by governments.
The question of employment for migrants
Work is important for migrants' livelihoods; but migrants do not always engage in waged labour.
Most migrants are assigned the most low paid agricultural jobs; regardless of their skills. This is
due to them lacking the necessary education, qualifications or skills to compete on the job
market. The work they do if often informal in character.
The conflicted task of governing migration
A third issue is how various levels or scales of governments reply to migration. When migration
and other social phenomena are regulated at and through various levels of government this is
referred to as governance. They also use the term to refer to the growing role played by private
companies and civil society groups in responding to migration; this is often referred to as the
migration industry. One part of society encourages it while the other discourages it. A lot of
countries struggle on meeting the dictates of the Geneva convention and simultaneously limiting
the number of asylum seekers.
The question of citizenship and belonging for and among migrants
A final issue concerns citizenship and what often is called belonging. One of the fundamental
desires for many migrants is obtaining legal citizenship in a country of immigration. Different
states and cities have different regulations and laws for this. Some countries’ citizenship is
obtained easier than others.
Substantive citizenship can be understood as the issues that concern the daily lives of
immigrants: matters of family, finding an adequate place to live and work, choosing decent and
appropriate schools, participating in organisations and events. These things are challenged by
racism or expectations of certain kinds of cultural behaviour. The ability to express their identity
is often a concern for many migrants.
GLOBAL TENDENCIES AND ESTIMATED PATTERNS OF MIGRATION ACROSS THE
GLOBE
6 trends associated with migration
, 1. roughly 67 per cent of all international migrants are concentrated in just 20 destination
countries, and about two thirds of all international migrants live in Europe and Asia. This
is part of the globalisation of migration.
2. The changing direction of dominant migration flows to the gulf countries like dubai and
kuwait.
3. The differentiation of migration (diversification of types and modes of entry discussed)
4. The proliferation of migration transition. Long time countries of migration have become
countries of transit of more permanent immigration.
5. The feminization of labour migration
6. The growing politicisation of migration.
The focus is on two aspects: globalisation of migration and the changing direction of migration
flows in order to provide the reader with some idea of the number of migrants. These patterns
we seek to explain.
The percentage of migrants as a percentage of the world's total population has remained stable
since 1960.
With the exception of maybe Australia, there are grounds for making the case that migrants’
countries of origin have diversified, while their ‘destinations’ have narrowed, especially since the
post-WWII period in the wealthier countries. From the 1950’s to about the 1980’s most
migrations to wealthier countries could be labelled as post-colonial or neo-colonial in character;
consisting of people migrating from former European colonies to the former colonial powers.
Social theory, spatial concepts and the study of migration
For many social scientists the concept of structures, institutions, agents and social networks
provide the fundamental of conventional elements of what is called social theory. Most
contested are the structures. For structuralist (functionalist) thinkers, structures are like the
skeleton of a building. They’re capable of either enabling or constraining human behaviour.
Structuralist thinkers attribute causal power to abstractions that in fact didn’t exist nor had
causal power.
In the book they view global capitalism as a set of forces that has a relatively fixed architecture
and which does impel people to migrate from poorer to richer countries alongside the idea that
the global economy itself is composed of institutions, individuals and social networks that make
the rules and control resources.
A second frequently used concept is that of institution. Institutions can be organisations like the
US department of Homeland security or a school or a help centre. These institutions deploy a
wide range of technologies in order to exercise power and control over policy domains and
people. Institutions also relate to less tangible entities like marriage, the family, households and
other forms of social arrangement.
, The thirds concept or category is agents which are human groups and individuals. Agents are
shaped by institutions and structures. They have agency which means they have capabilities,
behaviours and practices of individuals or groups. They can and do exercise power to shape
structures, institutions or other agents. The idea of social networks has become popular in the
social sciences and particularly in migration studies to overcome dualisms like ‘global/local’ and
‘macro/micro’.
Social Networks are generally defined as webs of interpersonal interactions commonly
comprised of relatives, friends or other associations forged through social and economic
activities that act as conduits through which information, influence and resources flow. These
networks can assume many forms, from relationships of kin to relations between institutions.
These networks maybe unofficial and invisible and often include weak ties. They may be
beneficial to migrants’ well being as they strengthen social capital and acces to other networks.
Spatial concepts and the study of migration
In migration studies we’re motivated by a spatial dilemma created by two seemingly opposed
concepts. On one hand is the problem of taking the nation-state as the starting point or basic
lens for analysing migration issues; which has been called ‘embedded nation-statism’or
methodical nationalism. This refers to the ongoing academic practice of viewing social
processes through the lens of the nation-state despite more than a decades critique of this
particular perspective. On the other hand there are the limitations of what might be labelled as
methodological nationalism. A solution to these limitations is thinking in terms of territories
and networks together.
5 spatial concepts essential to understanding migration
- Place
- Nodes
- Friction of distance
- Territory and territoriality
- Scale and scalar
Meanings of space
Space has no meaning by itself; so we have to speak about socio-spatial relations. In other
words, how space and society interact. Lefevbre developed a triadic understanding of space
involving ‘spacial practice’, ‘representations of space’ and ‘spaces of representation’.
Spatial practice refers to the physical and material production and use of space in everyday
life. It encompasses the routines, activities, and interactions through which individuals and
groups navigate and inhabit the world.
