Entry requirements
This course can only be taken as part of the ‘Governance of Migration and Development’ programme.
Description
This course is given at the Institute for Social Studies (The Hague), and is part of the Governance of Migration and Diversity Master programme.
The course examines the processes and structures of migration, both internal and international and South-South as well as South-North, combining a holistic focus on people’s lives and a global political economy perspective. It notes multiple causes of migration (including conflict and environmental change, demand for labour and differences in economic opportunities between regions); and some of the consequences (e.g. money remittances, changed balance of genders and generations, cultural and political impacts). The dynamics of migration must be analysed in the context of, first, the globalized economic system, and, second, the system of nation-states. The impact of economic globalization and other economic restructuring and change is felt within countries too; overwhelmingly most migration takes place within countries.
Migration is of people not things. This makes it not just one more resource flow in the global economy. It brings major social impacts, tensions and opportunities, worldwide. Besides labour migration, and huge flows for family re-union and education, there is large-scale forced migration from regions in situations of conflict. These various flows are partly linked to ‘side-effects’ (cultural, environmental, climatic, political) of the transformations wrought by global economic developments.
Within this perspective, the course considers how state and non-state actors in various parts of the globe seek to manage migration of various types, in diverse migratory regimes that have emerged within and across countries and regions. It gives special attention to the lives of labour migrants, and also to the governance regimes around forced migration. It raises the question of how far do responses to migration give serious attention to its causes.
Course objectives
This course enables students to:
understand migration processes, systems and life experiences, in relation to interactions of economic systems, nation-states, and migrant strategies for coping and livelihood
explore holistically migrants’ livelihood situations, well-being and ill-being, using a human security framework
be exposed to life experiences of migrant workers, their labour market situations, struggles for labour rights, and (lack of) access to social security arrangements
consider specifically the situations of women in migration systems, and the distinctive and extra demands and risks they may face
consider specifically the situations of asylum seekers and refugees, including as a result of the shift in recent decades to increasingly harsh and restrictive policies; and the counter-attempts to forward refugee rights
introduce contemporary positions on the ethics of migration and migration policies.
Timetable
For more information, see the EUR Timetable
Mode of instruction
Not applicable.
Course load
Not applicable
Assessment method
Assignment(s): 85%
Group assignment: 15%
For more information on the assessment method, contact M. Meskoub
Blackboard
Not applicable
Reading List
Indicative readings
Adelman, H. (1988) ’Refugee or Asylum: a Philosophical Perspective’, Journal of Refugee Studies 1(1): 7-19.
Castles, S., de Haas, H., Miller, M. J. (2014) The Age of Migration (5th edn). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Choudry, A. and B. Hlatshwayo (eds) (2016) Just Work? Migrant Workers' Struggle Today. London: Pluto Press.
Edwards, A. and C. Ferstman (eds) (2010) Human Security and Non-Citizens: Law, Policy and International Affairs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taha, N., K.A. Siegmann and M. Messkoub (2015) ‘How Portable is Social Security for Migrant Workers? A Review of the Literature’, International Social Security Review 68(1): 95-118.
Truong, Thanh-Dam, Des Gasper, Jeff Handmaker, Sylvia Bergh (eds) (2014) Migration, Gender and Social Justice: Perspectives on Human Security. Heidelberg: Springer.
United Nations (2016) International Migration Report 2015 Highlights. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. ST/ESA/SER.A/375. New York: United Nations. (Free download at: http://www.un.org/)
Registration
Not applicable
Registration Studeren à la carte en Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
EUR course description M. Meskoub
Remarks
Not applicable