Transnational Migration And Human Security

The volume places the migration-development-security nexus in the field of transnational studies. Rather than treating these three categories as self-evident, the essays excavate aspects of power and privilege built into their governing frameworks and conflicting rationales apparent in practices of control. Bringing together diverse experiences and case studies, the volume highlights the problematic nature of maintaining distinct and disconnected frameworks of governance. It argues for a new approach that demonstrates the significance and usefulness of comparative ethics in conceptualising migration from a human-centered and gendered perspective in order to address the multi-facetted and multi-dimensional nature and meanings of "security".

Migration, Globalisation and Human Security looks at a range of security and human security issues related to the displacement of civilian populations and shows how the tenuous existence of migrants can lead to a myriad of human security threats. Providing major theoretical analyses of recent migration trends and in depth-case studies, this book shows that a redefinition of the notion of human security is now needed.

This book examines the management of migratory flows in the Mediterranean within an international security perspective. The intense migratory flows registered during the year 2015 and the tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea have tested the mechanisms of the Union’s immigration and asylum policies and its ability to respond to humanitarian crises. Moreover, these flows of varying intensities and geographies represent a threat to the internal security of the EU and its member states. By using Spain and Italy as case studies, the author theorizes that the EU, given its inability to adopt and implement a common policy to effectively manage migratory flows on its Southern border, uses a deterrence strategy based on minimum common denominators.

This original and timely book is the first to analyze the interconnectedness of migration, regional integration and the new security studies. Exploring the conflict between the actions of transnational migrants and state government policy in a series of theoretical chapters and regional case-studies, the book includes theoretical chapters which look at three key facets of the nation-state: population, territory and government, discussing the ways in which migration, regional integration and new security thinking challenge the accepted role and responsibilities of the state. Regional case-studies are also included which explore the specific challenges faced in regions including Central America, Asia and the Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. As a book that asks crucial questions about the formulation of migration policies and the consequences of that success of failure, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of migration in sociology, politics and international relations and also for those with professional interests in the area.

In recent years, drug use, illegal migration and human trafficking have all become more common in Asia, North America and Asia: the problems of organized crime and human trafficking are no longer confined to operating at the traditional regional level. This book fills a gap in the current literature by examining transnational crime, human trafficking and its implications for human security from both Western and Asian perspectives. The book: Provides an outline of the overall picture of organized crime and human trafficking in the contemporary world, examining the current trends and recent developments contrasts the experience and perception of these problems in Asia with those in the West, by analyzing the distinctive Japanese perspective on globalization, human security and transnational crime examines the policy responses of key states and international institutions in Germany, Canada, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Korea. This book argues that any effort to combat these crimes requires a response that addresses the welfare of human beings alongside the standard criminal law response. It represents a timely analysis of the increasingly serious problems of transnational crime, human trafficking and security.

Across East Asia, intra-regional migration is more prevalent than inter-regional movements, and the region’s diverse histories, geopolitics, economic development, ethnic communities, and natural environments make it an excellent case study for examining the relationship between irregular migration and human security. Irregular migration can be broadly defined as people’s mobility that is unauthorised or forced, and this book expands on the existing migration-security nexus by moving away from the traditional state security lens, and instead, shifting the focus to human security. With in-depth empirical country case studies from the region, including China, Japan, North Korea, the Philippines, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore, the contributors to this book develop a human security approach to the study of irregular migration. In cases of irregular migration, such as undocumented labour migrants, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, trafficked persons, and smuggled people, human security is the cause and/or effect of migration in both sending and receiving countries. By adopting a human security lens, the chapters provide striking insights into the motivations, vulnerabilities and insecurities of migrants; the risks, dangers and illegality they are exposed to during their journeys; as well as the potential or imagined threats they pose to the new host countries. This multidisciplinary book is based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with migrants, aid workers, NGO activists and immigration officers. As such, it will appeal to students and scholars of Asian politics and security, as well as those with interests in international relations, social policy, law, geography and migration.

Every day newspapers in the Western world carry articles about illegal immigrants, asylum seekers and other migrants. The focus of these articles varies greatly from migrants as a threat to one or another important social or societal interest, to migrants as an important asset to those same interests. The tone is most often emotional - whichever way the focus goes. The overall impact is to confuse: is migration good or bad? In this book Guild and van Selm seek to investigate these value assessments regarding migrants in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia. While looking at issues such as security, human rights, legal systems, identity, racism, welfare, health and labour, the authors also respond to critics of immigration.

Migrants fleeing economic hardship or violence are entitled to a range of protections and rights under domestic and international law, yet they are often denied such protections in practice. In an era of mass migration and restrictive responses, migrant acceptance is often contingent on the expectation that they contribute economically to the host country while remaining politically and socially invisible. These unwritten expectations, which Jeffrey D. Pugh calls the "invisibility bargain", produce a precarious status in which migrants' visible differences or overt political demands on the state may be met with hostile backlash from the host society. In this context, governance networks of state and non-state actors form an institutional web that can provide indirect access to rights, resources, and protection, but simultaneously help migrants avoid negative backlash against visible political activism. The Invisibility Bargain seeks to understand how migrants negotiate their place in receiving societies and adapt innovative strategies to integrate, participate, and access protection. Specifically, the book examines Ecuador, the largest recipient of refugees in Latin America, and assesses how it achieved migrant human security gains despite weak state presence in peripheral areas. Pugh deploys evidence from 15 months of fieldwork spanning ten years in Ecuador, including 170 interviews, an original survey of Colombian migrants in six provinces, network analysis, and discourse analysis of hundreds of presidential speeches and news media articles. He argues that localities with more dense networks composed of more diverse actors tend to produce greater human security for migrants and their neighbors. The book challenges the conventional understanding of migration and security, providing a new approach to the negotiation of authority between state and society. By examining the informal pathways to human security, Pugh dismantles the false dichotomy between international and national politics, and exposes the micro politics of institutional innovation.