Migration and the State

Today tens of millions of people cross borders on a daily basis. International mobility is part of a broader trend of globalization, which includes trade in goods and services, investments and capital flows, greater ease of travel, and a veritable explosion of information. While trade and capital flows are seen as the twin pillars of globalization, migration often is overlooked, especially among scholars of international relations (Hollifield 2008). Yet migration is a defining feature of the global era in which we live. Although it is linked in many ways to trade and investment, it is profoundly different. Some clever person once observed that “people are not shirts,” which is another way of saying that labor is not a pure commodity. Unlike goods and capital, individuals can become actors on the international stage, whether through peaceful transnational communities or violent terrorist/criminal networks. Migration and mobility can be a threat to the security of states, as we have been reminded daily since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; but migrants also are an asset. Immigrants bring human capital, new ideas and cultures to their host societies and they often come with a basic package of (human) rights that enables them to become members of society, if not citizens, of their adoptive countries. Conversely they may return to their countries of origin where they can have a dramatic effect on economic and political development (Hollifield et al. 2007). And lest we forget, not all migration is voluntary – in any given year millions of people move to escape political violence, hunger, and deprivation, becoming refugees, asylum-seekers, or internally displaced persons. In 2007, UN estimates put the global refugee population at 11.4 million – down considerably from the turbulent decade of the 1990s but trending upward. The total population of concern to the UN High Commission for Refugees, including internally displaced persons, stands at almost 33 million. Because it is so complex and multifaceted, migration poses an enormous regulatory challenge for states and the international community. Keywords: migration and the state; citizenship; cultural adaptation; borders; cultural diversity; nationalism; immigration; migration; state