International Migration Systems

The historical paradigm of international migration as a movement of settlers and families to new lands for permanent settlement is being challenged by the realities of the contemporary world. Indeed, permanent migration represents a declining share of international population flows while temporary migrations are on the increase. The authors propose a systems approach for examining contemporary international migration and other types of population flows between countries. They argue that international migration trends and patterns should be looked at in relation to other international flows, such as those of capital, goods, technology and information. Migration flows and counterflows between sending and receiving countries contribute to the formation of systems. These systems evolve and change over time in response both to the dynamics of the migration process itself and to other forces. Migrations are frequently connected to the economic and political relations between different sets of countries and also shape the outcome of economic and political relations. The transformation of the international economic and political order that is underway, the growing scale of transnational activities of governments, corporations, private organizations and other institutions, and migrant social networks contribute to the growth of migration systems. The book includes a set of comparative case studies - from Europe, the Americas, the South Pacific, Africa and Asia - and theoretical chapters on the systems approach. It is intended to be of interest to demographers, sociologists, economists, social historians, and policymakers interested in population issues and international migration.

Table of Contents:
Global interactions, migration systems, processes, and policies, Mary M. Kritz and Hania Zlotnik. Part 1 Global and regional migration systems: empirical identification of international migration systems, Hania Zlotnik; international migration in the South Pacific region, Richard Bedford; the West African migration system, Paulina Makinwa-Adebusoye; migration and interdependence - the migration system between France and Africa, Jean-Pierre Garson; Caribbean exodus and the world system, Alan B. Simmons and Jean Pierre Guengant; the role of migration policies and social networks in the development of a migration system in the Southern Cone, Jorge Balan. Part 2 Processes linking origin and destination countries: international labour movements - a perspective on economic exchanges and flows, Lin Lean Lim; migration networks and the shaping of migration systems, Douglas T.Gurak and Fe Caces; the use of social networks in Turkish migration to Germany, Czarina Wilpert; the mobilization of labour migrants in Thailand: personal links and facilitating networks, Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard; the contribution of remittances to economic and social development, Fred Arnold; science and technology transfers and migration flows, Mary M. Kritz and Fe Caces. Part 3 Policy issues underlying international migration: laws and policies regulating population movements: a European perspective, Tomas Hammar; contemporary labour migration from Asia: policies and perspectives of sending countries, Manolo I. Abella; institutional and policy interactions among countries and refugee flows, Jacqueline Desbarats; evolution of policy modes for regulating international labour migration, Mark J. Miller; labour migration and international economic regimes - Bretton Woods and after Aristide R. Zolberg.

Review :
"Especially useful reading to those first coming to the field of international migration....The book contributes notably to our understanding of the present patterns of population flows and the historical roots of those flows in several areas of the world."--Contemporary Sociology