Globalisation and Migration

Question 1

What is globalisation?

Answer 1

The idea that barriers between societies and disappearing and people are becoming interconnected across national boundaries

Question 2

What are the social changes of migration as a result of globalisation?

Answer 2

• Acceleration (increased international migrants)
• Differentiation (different types of migrant)
• Feminisation of migration
• Migrant identities
• Politicisation of migration

Question 3

Give an example of acceleration as a social change

Answer 3

• There has been a speeding up of the rate of migration
• e.g. the United Nations found, between 2000 and 2013, international migration increased by 33%

Question 4

Describe differentiation as a social change

Answer 4

• There are many types of migrant like, permanent settlers, temporary workers or refugees.
• Before the 1990s, immigration to the UK come from a narrow range of former British colonies
• However, globalisation has led to what Vertovec calls ‘super diversity’. Migrants come from a wide range of countries, even within each ethnic group, they differ in their legal status.

Question 5

What are the class differences among migrants that also creates differentiation?

Answer 5

Cohen distinguishes 3 types of migrant:
- Citizens: with full citizenship
- Denizens: privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state e.g. billionaires
- Helots: exploited by the state that sees them as a reserve army of labour, who are usually in poorly paid work

Question 6

What is the feminisation of migration?

Answer 6

• In the past, most migrants were me while today, almost half of all global migrants are female.
• This is called this globalisation of the gender division of labour, where female migrants are fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women’s role like carers

Question 7

Give an example of the feminisation of migration

Answer 7

Ehrenreich and Hochschild observed that care, domestic and sex work in western countries is increasingly done by women from poor countries

Question 8

What has caused the feminisation of migration?

Answer 8

• The expansion of service occupations (that employ mainly women) in western countries had led to an increasing demand for female labour
• Western women have joined the labour force and are less willing to perform domestic labour
• Western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour
• The failure of the state to provide adequate childcare

Question 9

What are migrant identities?

Answer 9

We have multiple sources of identity: family, ethnicity, religion etc. So for migrants, their country of origin provides an additional source of identity

Question 10

Describe the transnational identity as an example of a migrant identity?

Answer 10

• Eriksen argues, globalisation has created more diverse migration patterns, so migrants are less likely to see themselves as belonging completely to one culture
• So they develop transnational and hybrid identities.

Question 11

What is the politicisation of migration?

Answer 11

• With more global flows of migrants, migration has become a political issue
• States now have policies that control immigration and deal with ethnic diversity
• Recently, immigrations policies have been linked to national security and anti-terrorism

Question 12

Describe assimilation as an example of the politicisation of migration

Answer 12

Assimilation was the 1st state policy approach to immigration and aimed to encourage immigrants to adopt the language and values of the host culture

Question 13

What is a disadvantage of assimilationist polices?

Answer 13

Transnational migrants with hybrid identities may not want to abandon their culture

Question 14

Describe an alternative to assimilationist policies

Answer 14

• Multiculturalism accepts migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity.
• However, this acceptance fails to address deeper problems facing children from migrant backgrounds, like racism