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INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
Currently, more than 200 million people live in
countries outside of their country of birth.
 International migration shows no signs of
slowing down, hence, understanding the
causes, consequences, and effects of
migration remains one of the most important
and pervasive topics of the 21st century in both
scholarly and policymaking communities.

Social, economic, political and demographic
consequences of migrations in countries of
both origin and destination.
 Themes in sociological research include race,
ethnicity, gender, transnational processes,
social networks, development, political
institutions and the state.

Immigration is not a new phenomenon. It
dates back to the early stages of written
history.
 Though migration is not new, it is accelerating
as part of the process of global integration.
 This is a reflection of the rapidly changing
economic, political and cultural ties between
countries.

THE AGE OF MIGRATION

Currently, more than 200 million people reside
in a country other than where they were born.

That is equivalent to 3 per cent of the world’s
population.
Immigration: The movement of people into a
country to settle.
 Emigration: To leave a country to settle in
another.
 The two waves together produce global
migration patterns that link countries of
origin and countries of destination.
 Immigration is now an important issue in
many countries with significant social,
cultural, economic and political
repercussions.

MIGRATION AND THE UK
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Immigration to the British isles has existed throughout
recorded history
Industrialization saw migration within the British Isles
from the Celtic fringe and other rural areas to
expanding urban centres
Migration from the near continent has occurred as
groups have fled political and religious persecution
During the 1930s and 40s many fleeing Nazi
expansion in mainland Europe fled to Britain
Rising immigration rates have challenged
commonly held notions of national identity;
 Also forced a re-examination of concepts of
citizenship.
 What might be some of the issues regarding
the concept of citizenship? (definiton of citizenship,

granting citizenship rights, dual citizenship)
MIGRATION AND THE UK
In Britain, Irish, black and Jewish communities
had existed long before the Industrial
Revolution. But the surge of new opportunities
altered the scale and scope of international
migration.
 New waves of Dutch, Chinese, Irish and black
immigrants transformed British society.

Post-Second World War immigration primarily
from Commonwealth nations to meet a need
for unskilled workers
 Immigration and asylum regulations tightened
by successive governments since the 1960s
 New migration sees free movement of labour
between member states of the European Union

The spread of industrialization has also
transformed migration patterns in
industrializing countries.
 The growth of employment opportunities in
urban areas encouraged a trend towards ruralurban migration.

MODELS OF MIGRATION
Classic Model (Australia, US, Canada)

Nations built from immigration; citizenship extended to
migrants
Colonial Model (Britain, France)

Favours immigrants from former colonies; builds on preestablished partial citizenship
Guest Worker Model (Germany, Swiss)

Immigrants admitted on temporary basis; no citizenship
rights
Illegal Forms (Mexico-US border) (Undocumented or
paperless)

Remaining beyond visa expiry/people smuggling
COLONIAL MODEL
Following WWII, people from Commonwealth
countries were encouraged and facilitated to go
to the UK, which had a shortage of labor.
 In addition to rebuilding the country and
economy after the destruction of the war,
industrial expansion provided British workers
with mobility, creating a need for labor in
unskilled and manual positions.

The British Nationality Act of 1948 granted
favorable immigration rights to the citizens of
Commonwealth countries.
 With each wave of immigration, the religious
composition of the UK changes. British cities
became multiethnic and religiously diverse.
 Immigration brought new questions about what it
means to be British and how ethnic and religious
minorities can fully integrate into British society.

ASYLUM-SEEKERS / REFUGEES

To be granted asylum, individuals must claim
that being forced to leave the country would
break obligations that the government has
under the UN Convention and Protocol relating
to the Status of Refugees, which obliges
signatory nations to protect refugees who are
fleeing persecution and treat them as well as
other foreign nationals on their territory.
RECENT GLOBAL TRENDS IN MIGRATION
Acceleration
 Migration across borders in greater numbers
Diversification
 Most countries receive immigrants of different types
Globalization
 More countries involved as both senders and
receivers
Feminization
 Global demand for domestic, care and sex workers
THEORIES OF MIGRATION
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Initiation of migration
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Neoclassical macro and
micro migration theories
New economics of
migration
Dual labor market theory
World systems theory
Lee’s push-pull factors
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Perpetuation of migration
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Network theory
Institutional theory
Cumulative causation
Migration systems (world
systems and all of the
above)
PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Push factors: encouraging migrants to leave
home country
Political oppression
 War
 Famine
 Poverty
 Population pressure

PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Pull Factors: factors drawing migrants to host
nation
Employment opportunities
 Higher standards of living
 Lower population density
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Pew Global Attitudes Project (2005)
 Germany

 34%
thought immigration from North Africa and
Middle East was a “good thing”
 57% thought it was a “bad thing”
 66% disapproved of immigration from Eastern
Europe
GLOBAL MIGRATION SYSTEMS
Interaction of micro and macro issues:

Micro: resources, knowledge and
understandings of migrant population
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Macro: political situation, immigration laws and
regulations, shifts in the international economy
DIASPORA
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In his book Global Diasporas (1997), Cohen
defines diaspora as “the dispersal of an ethnic
population from an original homeland into
foreign areas, often in a forced manner or
under traumatic circumstances”.
TYPES OF DIASPORA
Victim diaspora
 Labor diaspora
 Trading diaspora
 Imperial diaspora
 Cultural diaspora
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CHARACTERISTICS OF DIASPORA
Movement from homeland
 Shared collective memory of homeland and
belif in the possibility of return
 Ethnic identity sustained over time and
distance
 Sense of solidarity with other members of the
group
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