Migration, Identity and Sovereignty Flashcards
1: What % of the UK’s population is migrants?
17% as of the 2021 census
What is the most common type of migrant in the UK?
Economic migrants
How has globalisation and global shift altered patterns of migration?
- China and SE Asia have become manufacturers of the world so a lot of rural->urban migration
- New global hubs have developed so international migration increases
- Deindustrialisation has led to depopulation and internal migration
- Transport and communication developments make it quicker, easier and more affordable to migrate
Describe the pattern of internal migration in China?
- Rural to urban
- Flows towards the east
- Flows towards coastal cities
What are 3 pull factors to cities?
- Employment
- Higher wages
- Quality of life
- Better life expectancy
- Low infant mortality
What are 3 push factors from the countryside?
- Low incomes
- Reduced need for rural farming labour
- Poor QoL
- Few opportunities
- Child malnutrition
- Poverty
- Poor education
- High unemployment
What is the Hukou system?
A registration system that allowed people to access services such as healthcare and education.
What are the pros of the Hukou system?
- Reduces pressure on cities
- Fewer/no informal settlements
What are the cons of the Hukou system?
- Limits where people are allowed to live
- Some rural people are denied healthcare, education and housing
Why is the government proposing reforms to the Hukou system?
To boost economic growth and encourage people to settle and spend in cities.
What are some differences in living standards between rural and urban China?
- Life expectancy higher in cities
- 34% of rural children under one die compared to 14% of urban children
- 14% of rural children malnourished vs 3% urban
- Annual household income in rural areas is half of city households
- Illiteracy is much higher in countryside
How has the Chinese government encouraged people to move?
Campaigns to move to newly built urban areas
What is the Maastricht Treaty?
Allows for free movement of labour
What is the Schengen Agreement?
Allows people and goods to cross borders without showing passport
Did the UK become a member of the Schengen agreement?
No
How many EU citizens now live in another member state?
14 million
When did the A8 accession countries join the EU?
2004
Name two A8 countries.
- Poland
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
What is the largest EU migrant group in the UK?
Poland
Where are migrants concentrated in the UK?
London
How many British people live in other EU nations?
1.3 million
Why are a large proportion of UK migrants older while Eastern European migrants are younger?
British migrants are retirees while Eastern Europeans are economic migrants.
What are 3 negative consequences of British migration to Spain?
- Cheap labour depresses wages
- Easy movement for criminals and terrorists
- Conflict arises from anti-immigrant groups and far-right groups
- Pressure on Spanish healthcare system
- Enclaves mean little interaction with locals
- Environmental damages on Costa Del Sol
- Increased property prices
- British fail to integrate
What are 3 positive consequences of British migration to Spain?
- Fills labour shortages
- Reduces unemployment in source countries
- Increased taxes
- Increased spending leads to multiplier effect
- What are the different types of and reasons for migration?
- Voluntary vs forced
- Long vs short term
- Economic vs social vs environmental
- Refugees/ asylum seekers/ internally displaced people
- Regular vs irregular (illegal)
- International vs internal
- What factors effect peoples ability to migrate?
- Wealth
- Skill level
- Opportunity e.g. proximity to borders or language barriers
- Presence/absence of border controls
How does wealth effect peoples ability to migrate?
Income is a key factor as high earners can migrate easier than low earners.
E.g. The UK points based system where Tier 1 is called High-Value Migrants and is for entrepreneurs and investors + people with exceptional talent like athletes, sports stars and celebrities
It is also very expensive to be illegally brought into a country by smugglers
E.g. Some people pay $4,000-10,000 to cross the US Mexico border
How does opportunity effect peoples ability to migrate?
- Proximity to host country e.g. Mexico -> USA
- Language barriers e.g. English-speakers to English speaking countries or ex-British empire countries moving to UK
- Physical geography or isolation e.g. Japan is remote and has little migration while Greece has a a long coast with many islands so struggles to deal with illegal migration
- Form of transport e.g. over land or a dangerous crossing like across the Mediterranean to the EU from North Africa
-Presence of settled family members
What is an example of a homogenous country?
Japan and Iceland
What is ethnicity?
The shared identity of an ethnic group which may be based on common cultural characteristics such as language, religion, diet or clothing.
What is an example of a heterogenous country?
Singapore, Australia, UK
What was Australia’s immigration policy?
The Assisted Passenger Migration scheme (AKA Ten Pound Poms) was created in 1945 and subsidised migrants from Britain so they could move to Australia for £10. 1 million+ Brits immigrated to Australia in under 30 yrs.
What was the aim of Australia’s Ten Pound Poms scheme?
Increase size of workforce to support industry and development.
What was Australia’s Immigration Restriction Act of 1901?
It was a policy that gave immigration priority to white Europeans. It became unlawful to have racially-based selection criteria in the 1970s.
What proportion of Australia’s population are either 1st or 2nd generation migrants?
45%
What is the fastest growing immigration sector?
Asian skilled workers
What are the 4 main criteria that are considered under the Australian points-based system
- Age – prioritise 25-32 years
- Education – prioritise those with a degree
- Work experience – to fill skills shortages
- Proficiency in English – to facilitate integration
Which group of migrants is Australia less tolerant of and what is their policy towards them?
Asylum seekers / irregular migrants arriving by boat – they are detained in offshore camps
What is Australia’s solution to illegal migrants?
Offshore Processing Centres
Ships patrol Australian waters and intercept migrant boats, towing or sending them back.
Asylum seekers are not held in Australia while their claims are processed. Instead, they are sent to offshore processing centres.
This idea was first used between 2001 and 2004 and was reintroduced in 2012.
Australia has one on the Pacific island nation of Nauru and another on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (now closed).
What happens if a migrant genuinely requires refugee status in Australia?
Even if asylum seekers are found to be legitimate refugees, they are not allowed to settle in Australia. They may be settled in Nauru or Papua New Guinea.
What are / were conditions like in the offshore detention centres?
Very poor, criticised by UN and Amnesty International – same as in Darfur (Sudan), only no bullets, they’re being killed mentally. Like a prison. Reports of riots, hunger strikes, murders, assaults, deaths through medical negligence etc.
How does the Australian government defend their policy?
They say they’re protecting the vulnerable by discouraging illegal people trafficking and that they’re trying to reduce drownings at sea.
How long are people kept in these offshore detention centres?
Some been there 6+ years
How many people were held in the Manus Island centre at the peak?
1,500
Why did the centre on Manus Island close?
A PNG Supreme Court declared the centre illegal under their constitution
Has the situation improved for the refugees in Australia’s offshore detention centres since Manu Islands centre closed ?
They were moved to accommodation centres in PNG and given more freedom, but stuck in limbo. People self-harming, attempted suicides, lack of hope
- What are the positive and negative consequences o
7: Why do border conflicts happen?
- One state may desire to absorb another
- One state may want to unite culturally and ethnically similar groups together
- A state may try to take over a country for natural resources
What is a natural border? Give example.
When physical geography like mountain ranges or rivers make up the border between two countries.
E.G. France and Spain are divided by the Pyrenees Mountain Range
What are the two case studies for border conflict we study?
- Rwanda
- Taiwan
Describe Rwandas geography.
It is a landlocked African country and is very small.
Who are the two main ethnic groups involved in the Rwandan genocide?
- Tutsi
- Hutu
When did Rwanda get colonised and who by?
In 1884-85 by Germany.
Who took over Germanys control of Rwanda after the First World War.
Belguim
What % of population was Tutsi and what % was Hutu?
14% Tutsi and 85% Hutu
Which group did the Belgians prefer, Tutsi or Hutu?
Tutsi