Migration

PARTNERS Academic Summer School 2022

Dr. Chris Moreh

Newcastle University - Geography, Politics and Sociology

7/5/22

Migration in sociology

Migration has been central to the social sciences
- Theories of belonging (assimilation, multiculturalism) - Sociology
- Citizenship and Immigration Policy - Politics
- Immigration enforcement and border security - Criminology
Traditionally, social sciences have studied fixity rather than mobility

International Organization for Migration definitions:

Migration: The movement of a person or a group of persons, either across an international border, or within a State.
- any kind of movement of people, whatever its length, composition and causes
- includes migration of refugees, displaced persons, economic migrants, and persons moving for other purposes, including family reunification.
- Emigration: leaving one nation-state for another
- Immigration: moving into a new nation-state
Migrant: an individual who has resided in a foreign country for more than one year irrespective of the causes (voluntary or involuntary) and the means (regular or irregular) used to migrate

International Organization for Migration definitions:

Diaspora: the dispersal of people outside their “homeland” (literally: scatter across)
Transnationalism: ongoing contact and connections between sending and receiving societies
Assimilation: adaptation of one ethnic or social group - usually a minority - to another. Assimilation involves the subsuming of language, traditions, values, mores and behaviour or even fundamental vital interests.

Intra-national vs. international?
Temporary vs. permanent?
Legal vs. illegal/Orderly vs. Irregular?
- “irregular” is preferable to “illegal” because the latter carries a criminal connotation. Sociologists usually restrict the use of the term “illegal migration” to cases of smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.
Voluntary vs. forced?
Skilled vs. unskilled?

Not one type of migration, such as labour migration, family reunion, refugee movement or permanent settlement, but a whole range of types at once.
Migratory chains which start with one type of movement often continue with other forms, despite (or often just because of) government efforts to stop or control the movement

Following WW2 the pattern changed, and Europe shifted from being a sending region to becoming a receiving region
Other regions and countries of emigration emerged
Strengthening South-North migration

when traditional lands of emigration become lands of immigration
Often preceded by transit migration
States as diverse as Poland, Spain, Morocco, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Turkey and South Korea are experiencing various stages and forms of a migration transition.
But other countries, for example in Latin America, have experienced reverse migration transitions as they changed from immigration to emigration countries.

Traditionally many labour migration seen as male dominated
Since the 1960s, women have not only played an increasing role in labour migration, but also the awareness of women’s role in migration has grown.
Today women workers form the majority in movements as diverse as those of Cape Verdeans to Italy, Filipinas to the Middle East and Thais to Japan.

Frameworks of Managing and Regulating Migration- International Agreements:
- 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
- 1967 UN Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
U.K. Policies:
- British Nationality Act, 1948, 1981
- Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, 1968
Brexit

Migration is a very broad topic
A very interdisciplinary topic
And one that requires a variety of methods to study
Activities:
- Watch the ten short ‘Migration 101’ series episodes on the Migration Matters webpage
- Watch the episodes in the Six Impossible Ideas (After Brexit) series on the Migration Matters webpage