International migration at a crossroads

Abstract

In the early twenty-first century, the forces generating international migration are more powerful than ever, and human mobility has become a key facet of global integration. Yet public concern about migration also remains powerful. Origin countries fear loss of skills and increased dependency on remittances from destination countries. Many people in destination countries see migration as a threat to prosperity, identity and security. The securitization of migration in the Global North since 2001 ignores the fact that South–North migration is the result of growing global inequality and lack of human security in the South. It is important to understand that migration is a crucial aspect of human development that can improve the capabilities of individuals and the innovation capacity of societies. This essay provides an overview of some of the key issues in international migration, including a discussion of the effects of the global economic crisis. In conclusion, the essay discusses the ‘global governance deficit’ in migration and looks at some long-term prospects.

Keywords::

• human security
• human development
• emerging migration
• globalization
• multiculturalism
• governance deficit

Notes

^1. About 7 million of Germany's foreign-born population are of non-German origin (the largest group being Turkish immigrants and their descendants), while about 4 million are ‘ethnic Germans’, most of whom came from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe after 1990.