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The International Migration Institute gathers researchers who are committed to develop new thinking about migration and mobility across the world.
Between courting and controlling: The Moroccan state and 'its' emigrants
The Moroccan state has long attempted to maintain tight control on "its" subjects living in Europe . Since the 1960s, the state has actively discouraged migrants' social and political integration because this was seen as endangering the flow of remittances and creating political opposition from outside. However, the failure of these remote control policies and an ominous stagnation in remittances prompted the state to change course over the 1990s. On the surface, repression has given way to the active courting of the rapidly expanding Diaspora. Along with policies to facilitate holiday returns, remittances and to co-opt former exiles, the state adopted a positive attitude towards migrants' dual citizenship and integration. Despite the apparent success of these policies, the recent spectacular increases in remittances and holiday visits could only be achieved because of continuing emigration and because these targeted policies were an integral part of a more general process of political reform and liberalisation. Reform has only been partial and the state has not given up a number of instruments to control and foster links with 'its' emigrants. While the state tries to strike a delicate balance between courting and controlling the expanding Moroccan Diaspora, some European politicians see these policies as running counter to integration policies. This can result in conflicting sovereignty claims made by Moroccan and European states.
Beyond Networks: Feedback in International Migration
This edited volume asks how the arrival of migrants at one time influences the decisions of those considering migration later. Through a set of case studies of migration in twelve 'corridors', it shows how different forms of feedback by different actors and through different channels contribute to our understanding of diverging migration flows.
Beyond War and Peace: The IOM and International Migration Control in Libya
The war that took place in Libya in 2011 forced 1.5 million people to leave the country. Many of them, from sub-Saharan Africa, were helped to return to their countries of origin by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This paper questions the purely humanitarian nature of the IOM intervention with reference to its activities before and after the conflict. It shows that this organisation has long participated in the implementation of European migration policies in Libya, and more widely in the Sahara. Through the replacement of local politics by international crisis management, this desert is gradually integrated into a zone of international bureaucratic expedience. War and humanitarian intervention appear as contingencies in the progressive implementation of a global system of surveillance, spatial control and management of mobility in Africa.
Birthplace, bloodline and beyond: How ‘Liberian citizenship’ is currently constructed in Liberia and abroad
As a twenty-first century post-war, emigrant-sending country, Liberia reflects global citizenship norms while simultaneously departing from them, and this unique positioning offers new opportunities to theorise citizenship across spatial and temporal landscapes. In this article, I examine ‘Liberian citizenship’ construction through a historical prism, arguing that as Liberia transformed from a country of immigration to one of emigration, so too did conceptualisations of citizenship – moving from passive, identity-based citizenship emphasising rights and entitlements to more active, practice-based citizenship privileging duties and responsibilities. Given the dynamic trends in citizenship configuration across the globe and particularly in Africa, this article fills gaps in the growing body of literature on citizenship and participation in emigrant-sending countries by contributing to wider debates about how identities, practices and relations between people transform in the aftermath of violent conflict. Empirical evidence presented is based on multi-sited fieldwork conducted in 2012 and 2013 with 202 Liberians in urban centres in West Africa, North America and Europe.
Broadcasting Migration Outcomes
This edited volume asks how the arrival of migrants at one time influences the decisions of those considering migration later. Through a set of case studies of migration in twelve 'corridors', it shows how different forms of feedback by different actors and through different channels contribute to our understanding of diverging migration flows.
Building Bonds for Migration and Development: Diaspora Engagement Policies of Ghana, India and Serbia
Origin countries’ governments are increasingly adopting policies to attract the resources of their migrants and their communities to stimulate development. These policies, sometimes referred to as ‘diaspora engagement policies’, range from securing the rights and protection of migrants while they are abroad, to strengthening the migrants’ sense of national identity and their linkages to the origin country and promoting remittances, financial investments and contributions to development. This study examines migrant communities and organisations from three countries – Ghana, India and Serbia – and explores how the governments of these countries have perceived ‘their’ respective migrants and, more specifically, the way in which these governments have attempted to engage migrants and their organisations in the interest of national development.
Building coalitions for transnational trade union solidarity: Comparative analysis of three campaigns from Turkey
As in many other countries Turkish trade unions have become increasingly active in applying transnational mechanisms to target transnational corporations (TNCs) and suppliers that do not respect labor rights. This article focuses on the contributions of Global Union Federations (GUFs) in coordinating transnational solidarity campaigns and the European trade union movement’s use of its 'social dialogue' policy to support Turkish struggles. The method of organizing transnational solidarity campaigns through a coalition building process among unions and pro-labor NGOs is explained and three solidarity campaigns from Turkey, (UPS campaign in the transport sector, Novamed campaign in the chemical sector and the DESA campaign in the textile-leather sector) are compared. This coalition building process offers suitable conditions to unite the power coming from production with the power coming from consumption and is able to put effective pressure on TNCs to respect labor rights. The ability of transnational campaigns to follow up issues and coalitions' willingness to work together for a long period determine the fate of unions' activities.
Can Foreign Health Assistance Reduce the Medical Brain Drain?
In this article, we analyse the impact of foreign health aid on the emigration rates of physicians. The analysis is based on a dataset of physician emigration rates from 50 source countries between 1998 and 2004. First, we investigate the direct impact of health assistance using the generalised method of moments estimation, and we highlight the significant negative effect of foreign health assistance on the medical brain drain. Second, we show that this effect results more from technical assistance than from financial assistance. Finally, the robustness of our analysis is verified to confirm the validity of the results.
«Ceux et celles qui restent»: Réflexions théoriques à partir du cas de l’émigration sénégalaise vers l’Europe
Une des difficultés dans l’analyse des processus migratoires réside dans le fait que l’on peine à expliquer le phénomène dans sa globalité, la complexité de celui-ci expliquant en grande partie cette situation. Ceci est particulièrement vrai dans le cadre des migrations Sud-Nord, notamment en provenance d’Afrique sub-saharienne, surtout appréhendées à travers le modèle push-pull, économiste, néolibéral et facile à appliquer à la plupart des situations. Aussi, de plus en plus d’auteurs insistent sur l’importance de trouver des approches alternatives à ce raisonnement classique. Cette communication tente de rendre compte du sort des hommes et des femmes qui n’optent pas pour la migration internationale et vivent dans des communautés fortement marquées par la migration des hommes. Plus précisément, nous nous proposons, afin de tenir compte de la complexité du phénomène, d’appréhender celui-ci du point de vue du contexte socioculturel dans lequel ces départs s’effectuent. Pour ce faire, à partir d’une étude de cas réalisée dans une petite ville du Nord Ouest du Sénégal, nous tenterons de comprendre et d’expliquer pourquoi dans cette communauté certains restent alors que d’autres partent. L’objectif à terme est de fournir un autre regard sur la relation entre migration et développement en général et local, en particulier.
Changing patterns of African Migration: A Comparative Analysis
African migration to Europe is regularly at the center-stage of media and policy attention. The regular media coverage of migrants arriving by sea on the shores or islands of Italy and Spain has fed the idea that the European continent is invaded by floods of destitute migrants. Migration policies in Europe have also to a large extent focused on the control of irregular migrations at its external borders (Gabrielli, 2012). The ideas that African migrants are largely composed of irregular migrants traveling long journeys through the Sahara – and the sea – have entered common wisdom. For instance, the widely consulted Wikipedia website mentioned that “the majority of the African migrants haven't got European travel visas, therefore their only accessible ways northward is that of travelling through the trans-Saharan routes” (Wikipedia, 2012). This focus by the media and policy-makers on irregular African migration does not acknowledge the large diversity of African migration to Europe. Moreover, the media and policy attention paid to sub-Saharan immigration is at odds with the relatively low numbers of African migrants in Europe (de Haas, 2007; Lessault and Beauchemin, 2009; Gabrielli, 2012).
Changing patterns of Congolese Migration
DR Congo is one of the most populated countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the largest French-speaking African country. It is also currently one of the poorest countries in the World: in 2011, it ranked last (187) on the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2011). Since its independence, it has gone through numerous political and economic crises. These crises are thought to have profoundly affected migrations (Sumata, 2002). Yet, although it is possible to draw a broad picture of Congolese migration, many of its characteristics and changes over time are still largely unknown. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the changing patterns of Congolese migration using quantitative MAFE data. In the first section, a review of the literature provides background information on the recent political and economic changes in DR Congo, as well as on changes in migrations. Next, we use MAFE data collected in Kinshasa (capital city of DR Congo) and in two European destination countries (Belgium and the UK) to document the changing patterns of migration from the DR Congo since the mid-1970s. In the third section, we focus on strategiesand routes of migrations to Europe.
Changing patterns of Ghanaian Migration
Migration has been part of people’s experience in many parts of Africa throughout history (De Bruin et al. 2001) and Ghana is no exception. Migration flows were typically regional due to commerce, forced labor and circulatory nomadic routes. Over the last decades however, migration patterns extended geographically with larger shares of migrants moving to Europe and North America. Even within these regions, African migrant flows have been diversifying (Grillo & Mazzucato 2008). Yet little comparative empirical data exist on migration flows between Africa and Europe and many of the characteristics and changes of these flows are still largely unknown. The objective of this chapter is to first describe international migration patterns from Ghana using the quantitative MAFE household data collected in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana, and second to focus on migration from Ghana to Europe, and back, specifically as it concerns flows between Ghana, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This second focus uses the MAFE biographic data collected both in Ghana and in Europe.
"Checking Out": Migration, Popular Culture and the articulation and formation of class identity
An enquiry into the causes of migrations out of Nigeria should begin by rejecting the assumption that every migrant was escaping from poverty, squalor, deprivation and want. Another widely held assumption that should be discountenanced is that the focus of such migrations out of the country is Europe, North America, and other advanced countries of the world. Such popular assumptions have neglected an important aspect of migration out of Nigeria – the social parameters that determine emigration. This work concentrates on a little-studied aspect of what engendered migration out of Nigeria. This is the gap between social need and social reality and the tension engendered between the middle-class ideology of consumption and the reality of social upward mobility. There developed a new level of interest and a lively counterculture on the heels of social needs, social acceptance and upward social mobility. This became the phenomenon of ‘Checking out’. This was euphemism for leaving the country not as a result of indigence but as a matter of or in search of prestige and, or, comfort. As a result of this, a whole new generation of youths from 1989 or thereabout, out of personal and social considerations became ‘embassy crawlers’’ and “visa hunters”- these in themselves became forms of social status. Since then it is roughly estimated that two of every five University undergraduates and College students became interested not in seeking gainful employment after graduation, but in leaving Nigeria. Similarly, gainfully employed young men and women preferred to leave their jobs in search of glamour and excitement abroad. Salaries and wages became visa application fees rather than money deployed in search of material comfort.
Cherishing the Goose with the Golden Eggs: Trends in Migrant Remittances from Europe to Morocco
In contrast to earlier predictions, migrant remittances from Europe to Morocco have shown an increasing trend over the past decades. Remittances constitute a vital and relatively stable source of foreign capital. The so-called “euro effect” and concomitant money laundering can only explain part of the recent, extreme surge in remittances. The structural solidity of remittances is explained by the unforeseen persistence of migration to northwestern Europe; new labor migration toward southern Europe; and the durability of transnational and transgenerational links between migrants and stay-behinds. The stable economic-political environment and new “enlightened” policies toward migrants explain why Morocco has been relatively successful in channeling remittances through official channels.
Chiefs, migrants and the state: Mobility in the Ghana–Togo borderlands
Borderlands in Africa are areas that foster mobility and cross-border trade. Especially in case of monetary differentials across countries, porous borders represent opportunities in terms of economic prospects. Analysing mobility in border studies through the prism of the state or state institutions seems to take for granted that state officials are the main or most legitimate authority acting upon mobility in borderlands. In this paper I argue, by using the structure and agency lens to analyse mobility in borderlands, that state officials are not the only authority influencing mobility nor are they regarded as the only legitimate authority concerning mobility. Focusing on the Ghana‒Togo borderlands, I show that traditional chiefs have historically participated in the regulation of mobility whether under colonial rule or after independence. Building on contemporary ethnographic studies, I demonstrate that traditional borderland chiefs are gatekeepers at the crossroads between state borders, borderland villages’ limits, and regional organisations (ECOWAS promoting free movement and WAEMU). In this position of power and according to their interests, borderland chiefs are both a competing authority to the state in terms of cross-border livelihoods and smuggling, but also indispensable allies acting as mobility gatekeepers. Mobility practices can be influenced by borderland chiefs who negotiate state structure according to their interests. This paper maintains that chiefs are important actors that should not be overlooked in the study of mobility in Africa.
Cinematic representations of diaspora: Italians and Jews
In this article we consider recent re-evaluations of the concept of diaspora and extend the notion of diasporic space using cinematic representations of two diasporic experiences, Italian and Jewish. The first film selected is the work of Edward Dmytryk, a controversial member of the Hollywood Ten (prominent film-makers who refused to disclose their political affiliations during the McCarthy period). The second film is the work of Joan Micklin Silver, who, starting her career in the 1970s, draws particular attention to female experiences of diaspora. The two cases and their respective filmic treatments show significant divergences. However, they are both concerned with the complex tasks of trying to retain elements of the old ways while finding legitimate cultural and social expression in the New World. Our analysis of the films also demonstrates the complex ways in which the New and Old Worlds are spatially and imaginatively linked in the diasporic consciousness.
Circulation internationale et développement urbain à Dakar: Fondements méthodologiques et résultats attendus
L’interaction entre migrations internationales et développement occupe depuis quelques temps une place de premier choix dans l’agenda des institutions internationales et des gouvernements nationaux, du Nord comme du Sud. Ce contexte politique a encouragé la communauté scientifique à produire divers états de la question sur les différents aspects des relations migrations-développement (fuite des cerveaux, transferts financiers, fonctionnement des réseaux transnationaux, etc.). Trois faits majeurs, imbriqués, ressortent de ces analyses : l’analyse des relations entre migrations internationales et développement est lourdement handicapée par le manque de données ; le bilan des coûts et bénéfices de la migration internationale, du point de vue des pays du Sud, demeure très controversé ; les migrations doivent, de plus en plus, être analysées en termes de circulation. Partant de ce triple constat, l’objectif de ce projet est de produire des données quantitatives permettant de saisir les pratiques circulatoires et transnationales des migrants africains pour, en définitive, tenter d’apporter un nouvel éclairage à l’étude des interactions entre migrations et développement. Le champs du projet est limité aux migrations des Sénégalais, pour lesquels nous collections des données quantitatives à la fois dans le pays de départ et dans plusieurs pays de destination (France, Espagne Italie). Le choix du Sénégal se justifie par le fait que ce pays est l’un de ceux où la prévalence de la migration internationale est la plus forte en Afrique sub-saharienne. Les pays européens entrant dans le projet constituent, de leur côté, les principales destinations des Sénégalais en dehors du continent africain. Ce projet est le produit de nombreuses collaborations. Il associe des chercheurs français et sénégalais. C’est un atout évident pour l’étude des migrations internationales (qui impliquent au moins un pays de départ et un pays de destination). Cette équipe est également pluridisciplinaire, composée de géographes, de démographes et de sociologues tous intéressés par les questions de population et, plus particulièrement, par l’étude des migrations internationales. Un trait original de l’équipe est d’associer recherche et action : la plupart des membres de l’équipe sont des chercheurs, mais plusieurs d’entre eux ont une expérience des projets de développement ou un rapport étroit avec les décideurs politiques et les organismes impliqués dans la gestion des migrations internationale. Cette caractéristique répond à nos objectifs ultérieurs de dissémination des résultats du projet auprès du grand public et des décideurs politiques. Cette communication vise à présenter les choix méthodologiques qui ont été opérés pour atteindre les objectifs scientifiques préalablement fixés dans le cadre de ce projet. En premier lieu, notre propos expose donc les objectifs du projet. Les parties suivantes montrent quelles solutions ont été adoptées pour répondre aux objectifs, d’abord du point de vue de l’échantillon (2ème partie), puis du point de vue du questionnaire (3ème partie). La conclusion présente les prolongements envisagés du projet (élargissement des terrains de recherche, construction d’un dialogue politique sur les migrations africaines).
Civil conflict and displacement – Village-level determinants of forced migration in Aceh
The purpose of this article is to identify the determinants of displacement behavior based on various push and pull factors at the village level. The study concentrates on changes in village population during three years of civil conflict (1999–2002) in Aceh, Indonesia. The empirical analysis is based on a unique dataset from two census rounds of the Indonesian Village Potential Census (PODES). It uses data on around 5,200 Acehnese villages and relates village-level population change to conflict variables, geographic patterns, and traditional socio-economic determinants of migration. By applying quantile regressions, the push (outflow) factors and the pull (inflow) determinants of migration can also be distinguished. The authors identify the following factors as the main determinants of the Aceh migration pattern in this period. First, conflict clashes induced large rearrangements of the population between villages in highly affected districts, as well as strong village emigration from the geographically remote regions in Central Aceh towards the less conflict-affected coastal industrial areas. Besides conflict factors, an (ongoing) rural–urban migration process, driven by socio-economic factors, has taken place during the conflict period. Second, there is also evidence that security considerations, such as the presence of police in a village or neighborhood, were either emigration-reducing or immigration-inducing. Third, although the presence of ethnic Javanese has not been a primary cause of conflict incidence, their intimidation by the rebel movement has led to a significant outflow, primarily from conflict-affected villages in Central Aceh. These results reveal that, beside a conflict-induced fear of violence, population movements in Aceh have also been an outcome of traditional migration determinants.
Climatic Factors as Determinants of International Migration
We examine environmental change as a potential determinant of international migration. We distinguish between unexpected short-run factors, captured by natural disasters, as well as long-run climate change and climate variability captured by deviations and volatilities of temperatures and rainfall from and around their long-run averages. Starting from a simple neo-classical model we use a panel dataset of bilateral migration flows for the period 1960-2000 that allows us to control for numerous time-varying and time invariant factors. We find no direct impact of climatic change on international migration across our entire sample. These results are robust when conditioning on characteristics of origin countries as well as when further considering migrants returning home and the potential endogeneity of our network variable. In contrast, there is evidence of indirect effects of environmental factors going through wages. We further find strong evidence that natural disasters beget greater flows of migrants to urban environs.
Coinciding Interests: Inditex Framework Agreement
[Book abstract] La velocidad con la que ha tenido lugar la internacionalización de la empresa española ha determinado que numerosos aspectos de la misma de gran interés y transcendencia se encuentren pendientes de un análisis detenido. Éste es el caso, señaladamente, del proceso de construcción de instrumentos de regulación laboral transnacional puesto en marcha por buena parte de las corporaciones de origen hispánico paralelamente a su consolidación exterior. Este proceso reúne elementos que aconsejan su estudio exhaustivo. De un lado porque conlleva la asunción de una novedosa función de ordenación de las relaciones de trabajo capaz de proyectarse hacia todas las sociedades y trabajadores que integran las redes de filiales y entidades colaboradoras de estas empresas, sin importar el país donde operen o el vínculo que mantengan con ellas. Pero, del otro, porque detrás de él se sitúa el objetivo, reiteradamente declarado, de desarrollar una gestión de las relaciones laborales dentro de dichas redes que concilie las exigencias de eficiencia y competitividad con el respeto de los estándares mundialmente aceptados en materia laboral, sirviéndose como fuente de inspiración de los principios de la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC). Esta es la tarea que, por vez primera, se aborda de forma sistemática a través del presente libro. Su propósito es, así pues, ofrecer una visión longitudinal y transversal de los instrumentos de gestión laboral transnacional puestos en circulación por las multinacionales españolas en la última década, que permita conocer los motivos que han conducido a su creación, las políticas corporativas que los sustentan, la singular problemática jurídica y material que plantean y su impacto potencial allí donde deben ser aplicados.