Migration and Political Theory

Gillian Brock

• Publisher: Polity
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781509535248
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Political Philosophy

Migration dominates contemporary politics across the world, and there has been a corresponding surge in political theorizing about the complex issues that it raises. In a world in which borders seem to be solidifying while the number of displaced people soars, how should we think about the political and ethical implications of human movement across the globe?

In this book, Gillian Brock, one of the leading figures in the field, lucidly introduces and explains the important historical, empirical, and normative context necessary to get to grips with the major contemporary debates. She examines issues ranging from the permissibility of controlling borders and the criteria that states can justifiably use to underpin their migration management policies through to questions of integration, inclusion, and resistance to unjust immigration laws.

Migration and Political Theory is essential reading for any student, scholar, or general reader who seeks to understand the political theory and ethics of migration and movement in the twenty-first century.

1
Introduction

Migration issues dominate contemporary political discourse, and there has been a matching surge in political theorizing about the complex issues that migration raises. President Trump promised to build a wall on the United States’ southern border with Mexico (and to get Mexico to pay for it). He also promised to end the green card lottery, suspend refugee programs, force Dreamers to leave the United States, and deport more of those living illegally in the United States than ever before. The successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union invoked much fear concerning rising numbers of immigrants. Australia, Italy, and Greece vigilantly guard their coasts, intercepting boats aiming to enter their waters. Violent clashes erupt in South Africa when Zimbabweans seeking work appear to threaten local job opportunities. Protecting the homeland from unwelcome foreign immigrants raises deep questions about the nature of who “we” are and what we fear about others. And it also invites us to think about several other topics, including the nature of political community, the defensible scope of self-determination, rightful authority to exclude from a territory, and the standing of borders.

The range of concerns that migration presents for those interested in matters of justice extends well beyond this cluster of issues centered on the state’s authority to exclude. Much migration is appropriately described as forced, as in the case of refugees. What responsibilities do we have to refugees seeking safe haven? And voluntary migration invokes a host of fairness concerns as well. What kinds of criteria may states permissibly use in formulating selection and citizenship policies? May states permissibly use wealth, health status, language proficiency, religion, sexual orientation, or family connections in such decisions? If so, how and when? Are there normative constraints on how destination countries may treat their “guest workers” from other countries and, if so, what are they? Does justice require regularizing the status of those who have been living in the state in ways deemed to be unlawful, at least under certain conditions? May governments ever defensibly restrict outmigration, preventing its citizens from leaving the territory, as the Soviet Union once did? These are just some of the many issues receiving considerable contemporary attention that are discussed in this work. This book aims to provide an introduction to the core of debates, along with focused attention to current and emerging questions.

This chapter provides some important background to discussing such issues. The chapter also seeks to offer some key facts about migration today in efforts to ensure readers have an accurate understanding of seminal information, which is sometimes appealed to or assumed in current debates. Sometimes politicians and citizens have important misconceptions about the nature, scope, and elements concerning migration. In such cases, arguments rest on shaky foundations. For instance, in contrast to the widely held view that movement is primarily from the so-called Global South to the Global North, in fact just as much, if not more, is South-South migration (IOM 2016). In addition, much migration is not of the kind that aims to be permanent. The phenomenon of migration certainly includes the cases of immigration and settlement, but also temporary and circular migration. This chapter also maps out some of the ethical and justice issues that migration raises and gives an overview of the book, with brief synopses of all the chapters.

The first section covers some central facts about contemporary migration. Section 1.2 explains some frequently used terms in the migration literature that are relevant to political theory. It also outlines some of the key drivers and consequences of migration. Section 1.3 covers a short history of human migration, highlighting some important moments that well illustrate some of the reasons why we have been moving about the planet from our earliest days as human beings. The fourth section provides an overview of core themes that the reader will encounter in subsequent chapters.

1.1 Some facts about migration today

It is important to stress that the vast majority of people, currently about 96.5%, continue to reside in their birth country (IOM 2020). Though still a small fraction of the total world population at 3.5% of the global population, there has been a small increase in the scale of international migration if we track data from the last few decades (IOM 2020).

In 2019, the total number of international migrants globally was 272 million. About two-thirds of those international migrants were labor migrants (IOM 2020: 2): 52% were male while 48% were female; 74% were of working age (that is, between 20 and 64 years old). In 2018, international remittances, the money that migrants send back to family and friends in their countries of origin, increased to US$689 billion.*

International migration continues to be shaped by economic, geographic, and demographic factors (among others) that can result in particular migration patterns developed over many years. Because of population data and trends, some of the largest migration corridors are from developing countries to larger economies, including those of the United States, France, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. There is more migration between countries in the Global South than between countries in the Global North. For instance, in 2013 38% of all migrants for that year migrated from developing countries to other developing countries (World Bank 2016: 11). By contrast, 23% of migrants had migrated between high-income countries. Popular migration corridors include Mexico-United States, Russia-Ukraine, Bangladesh-India, Afghanistan-Pakistan or Iran, China-Hong Kong, and India-United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.

Some countries have especially high proportions of migrants relative to their local populations. Examples include Qatar (85% of its resident population being comprised of migrants) and the United Arab Emirates (70% of its population are migrants).

There can be considerable migration within a country because of seasonal demands for labor, notably in the agricultural and tourism sectors. However, most political theorizing on migration limits the focus to international migration, where migrants cross a state border.

Counting refugees, those internally displaced (i.e. displaced within their countries of residence but without crossing a border) and asylum seekers, the number of so-called forced migrants or displaced people increased to 70.7 million in 2018. In 2018, Syria had the highest number of internally displaced people (6.1 million), followed by Colombia (5.8 million), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.1 million). In 2018, the number of stateless persons globally was 3.9 million.

Displacement is a major feature in some regions. For instance, in the Syria/Turkey region, 6.7 million refugees have fled Syria, with Turkey absorbing 3.7 million of these. By mid-2019, 4 million Venezuelans had left their country of origin, with many traveling to neighboring states such as Colombia. Recent years have seen major migration and displacement events related to conflict (e.g. Syria, Yemen, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo), extreme violence (such as experienced by the Rohingya fleeing Rakhine state in Myanmar), economic and political crises (as experienced for instance by Venezuelans), or environmental factors (such as happened in 2018 and 2019 in Mozambique, the Philippines, China, India and the United States). Conflict is a major source of forced migration, the top countries of origin being Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Burundi, which together account for roughly 82% of the refugee population under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (henceforth, UNHCR) (IOM 2020: 39). Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world. Pakistan and Iran are also among the top ten refugee-hosting countries (IOM 2020: 40). The least developed countries (such as Bangladesh, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen) host 33% of the global total (IOM 2020: 40).

The number of official resettlement places made available in 2018 was approximately 92,400, a 10% decrease from 2017 (IOM 2020: 41). Many of those who migrate across borders remain in the region, and they flee to countries close by, because of factors such as ease of travel and familiarity (IOM 2020: 53). In 2018, 52% of the global refugee population was under 18 years of age (IOM 2020: 39). Refugees are primarily based in urban environments; at the end of 2018, 61% of refugees were in urban areas (IOM 2020: 39).

As part of current trends, it is notable that politicians, policy makers, and opinion leaders often use international migration as a tool for their own purposes. The politicization of migration is not new, but perhaps the technologies we now readily have at our disposal can disseminate information and discord more swiftly. Some leaders seek to use immigration issues as a way to divide communities. Some also harness social media in attempts to create division and polarization by portraying migrants in a misleading and negative light. Such campaigns have resulted in more polarized and less respectful civic engagement, along with the weakening of many elements of democracy in several cases.

On the more positive side, there has been substantial change in the global governance of migration over recent years as evidenced by the formation of the United Nations Network on Migration and the two well-supported global compacts, one on refugees and another that governs migration more generally. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees are two important international treaties which are the products of decades-long efforts by states, international organizations, civil society organizations, and other actors committed to improving how migration is governed at the international level. These global agreements enjoy near-universal consensus on central issues requiring sustained international cooperation and commitment (IOM 2020: 6). At the end of chapter 9, we will be in a position to understand better why the compacts represent historic commitment to changing key defects with our current migration arrangements.

1.2 International migration: some types, drivers and effects

In this section, I cover key terms used in the migration literature, along with some commonly reported drivers and effects of migration.

1.2.1 Key terms

People can be described as migrants even when they have not actually themselves migrated. For instance, children of citizens born in other lands may be categorized as migrants, commonly second- or third-generation migrants (or citizens of migrant origin). People migrate for many reasons, but the overwhelming majority migrates because of factors related to work, family, or study. There is also a huge category of forced migrations in which people migrate because of conflict, violence, persecution, natural disasters, or environmental degradation. Let us look at some commonly used terms related to migration next.

International migrants are those who cross a state border as opposed to those who migrate within a state. The terms destination, recipient, or host state refer to the country to which a migrant goes. The country she has left is commonly referred to as a state of origin, sending country, or home state.

International migration can be characterized as either intending to be permanent or for a more temporary duration. Not all migrants enter the destination state on a permanent basis, but rather some aim to reside in the country for a short period and then return home. Work and study are dominant reasons motivating people to migrate temporarily. A vast number of these temporary migrants enter for work and are called “temporary labor migrants.”

Many migrants seek to live in a state more permanently and in ways that are lawful. This usually involves at least two phases. In the first phase, the migrant, if successful, is legally admitted to reside in the territory on a permanent basis. In order to become a citizen, the migrant usually has to reside in the territory for a period of time, such as five years. During the first phase, the migrant would typically be described as a permanent resident. In the second phase, once citizenship has been conferred, the migrant might be referred to as a naturalized citizen.

Some migrants repeat patterns of migration between two destinations, such as the home and host states, often because the demands of work are seasonal. Such migration might be referred to as circular.

Next, let’s cover cases of involuntary migration. Those who cross a border fleeing war, persecution, or other significant disturbance to public order are often classed more loosely as refugees. Those displaced by such activities but who do not cross a border are classified as internally displaced people. A person crossing a border seeking refuge in another state may apply for protection in the territory, and such applicants are called asylum seekers. If the application is successful, the person’s legal status changes and they are recognized as an official refugee. Achieving formal legal status can come with certain rights and entitlements that are not afforded to asylum seekers, such as a right to work in the country of refuge.

In practice, the distinction between voluntary and involuntary migration can be rather arbitrary. Levels of coercion, in reality, fall along a continuum as migrants experience different forms of pressures that they perceive as forcing them to leave. One such huge category of pressure relates to economic conditions and opportunities in countries of origin. Many people who seek to leave their home countries are not successful in doing so lawfully. Often desperate people might feel compelled to take ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Right to Exclude and Open Borders
• 3 Forced Migration and Responsibilities: The Case of Refugees
• 4 Which Criteria May States Permissibly Use in Selection and Citizenship Policies?
• 5 Legal Immigrants and their Host States: Rights and Responsibilities
• 6 Undocumented Migrants and their Host States: Rights and Responsibilities
• 7 Fair Treatment for Temporary Migrant Workers
• 8 Justice in Out-Migration
• 9 Emerging Issues and Future Directions
• Bibliography
• End User License Agreement