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Seminar and reading summary - Politics of Migration - 2024 - Grade 8
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Notes – Politics of Migration 2024Seminar 01: 05/02/2024
Introduction
Core debate
- To what extent are states capable of controlling migration?
- Which factors shape their ability to do so?
- What dilemmas are state actors confronted to when developing migration policies?
The biases of the debate
- Migration studies has been dominated by Eurocentric views and authors.
- Which voices are missing?
- What assumptions is the article based on?
- What worldview does the article (implicitly) adopt?
Definitions
- Migration policy
- Zolberg (1978, p. 243): Tools
- Formal rules, laws, and regulations,
- Informal state approaches such as administrative practices,
- The absence of regulation and purposive laissez-faire.
- Hammar (1985, pp. 7-9): Substance
- Immigration control policy
- Selection and admission of migrants, such as border control policies, visa
requirements, or regularisations, as well as its consequence of expulsion and
return policies.
- Immigrant policy
- Conditions for migrant’s stay and integration, such as socio-economic rights
related to education, health, and work.
- Emigration and diaspora policies.
- Sciortino (2004, pp. 32-33): Migration regime
- A country’s migration regime is usually not the outcome of consistent planning.
- It is rather a mix of implicit conceptual frames, generations of turf wars among
bureaucracies and waves after waves of quick fix to emergencies, triggered by changing
political constellation of actors.
- Migration politics
- It is about power relations.
- Dynamics that characterise debates and decision about migration policy.
- Conflicting interests among and within actors at the local, national, and international level.
,Notes – Politics of Migration 2024
Jagdish Bhagwati: Borders Beyond Control (2003)
- Bhagwati argues that borders have become uncontrollable due to globalisation and the ineffectiveness of
traditional migration control measures. He advocates for a shift in policy focus from attempting to stop
migration to managing it effectively to control potential benefits (paradigm shift in policy).
- Reflections:
- Bhagwati’s perspective challenges traditional views on immigration control, highlighting the
complexity of migration in a globalised world.
- The article is thought-provoking, especially its critique of the effectiveness of current immigration
policies and its call for a more nuanced approach.
- It complements discussions on state sovereignty and migration management, offering a global
perspective contrasting with Freeman’s focus on liberal democracies.
- Summary:
- Biggest problem for developing countries:
- ‘Brain dump’ is where intellectuals and highly trained people leave the country to pursue
a better life elsewhere.
- Biggest problem for developed countries:
- Illegal immigration of low-skilled workers and forced migration as these types cannot be
controlled effectively.
- Students who study abroad often stay in their destination country to pursue work.
- Bhagwati proposes the creation of a World Migration Organization to facilitate international
cooperation on migration issues.
- Diaspora approach:
- Emigrants still have rights in their home country and stay connected to it.
- Critical Question:
- How feasible is Bhagwati’s proposal for a World Migration Organization in the current geopolitical
context, and would it address member states’ diverse and often conflicting interests effectively?
- While the author argues that developing countries must move to a diaspora model, this could
also lead to more emigration as the country becomes dependent on remittances. Would this not
be a negative spiral?
, Notes – Politics of Migration 2024
Gary Freeman: Can Liberal States Control Unwanted Migration (1994)
- Freeman challenges the notion that liberal democracies are inherently hopeless at managing immigration,
arguing for their significant, though often underestimated, regulatory capacity across different domains of
migration policy.
- Reflections:
- The article prompts reconsideration of the effectiveness of immigration control in liberal states,
moving away from a generalised critique to a nuanced understanding.
- Freeman’s argument is enlightening, particularly in how it disaggregates migration policy to reveal
varied state capacities.
- This work connects with broader discussions on state sovereignty and the balance between open
borders and national security, complementing and contrasting with other readings on migration
governance.
- Summary:
- Selecting legal migrants:
- Non-discriminatory policies reduce the capacities of liberal states.
- Point system: countries rate prospective immigrants based on economic factors.
- Family reunification system: drives most migration (2/3 in the USA).
- Controlling illegal migrants:
- External controls: physical controls at borders.
- Internal controls: checking whether people on visas leave the country. The effectiveness
of internal controls depends on the location (USA vs. Australia).
- Employer sanctions: taking away the possibility of working should reduce illegal
immigration.
- Temporary workers program:
- Getting the allocational benefits of migration while reducing the distributional costs.
- Example: guest worker program in Germany.
- States must plan to return migrants before they come.
- Temporary worker programs tend to produce permanent immigration because the
people create new lives.
- Refugee selection:
- International norms reduce the flexibility of states.
- The distinction between economic and political refugees became more apparent.
- Critical Question:
- Does Freeman adequately consider the role of international cooperation and the impact of
globalisation on states’ ability to control migration, or does he overemphasise the autonomy of
national policies?
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