What are the impacts of globalisation on international migration
'the growing interdependence of countries worldwide through
increasing volumes of cross-border transactions, freer international
capital flows and more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology'
Migration between countries
The global migration rate has been consistent
since 2005; countries with emerging economies
have higher numbers of emigrants
Singapore is the fifth most globalised country in the
world according to the KOF 2015 Index of globalisation
CS: Singapore,
international
migration and the
global shift
By contrast, Japan is the 54th most globalised country due to its
stricter laws on immigration. 65% of respondents in a survey on
immigration opposed the idea
Causes of migration
Globalisation has created many push and pull factors of
migration
Lee model
Push: persecution due
to race, gender,
sexuality, political
opinion or otherwise,
lack of job
opportunities, national
security, war or other
military factors and
natural hazards
Economical factors are always likely to be the
most prominent for voluntary migration
CS: MENA region
displaced persons
Pull: improved
financial position,
job opportunities,
family, better living
standards, climate,
seeking asylum,
better education,
improved
healthcare system
Neoclassical economic theory
Dual labour market theory
Relative deprivation theory
World systems theory
Economics of labour migration
Labour shortages as the world's population
growth rate slows and average ages increase
Consequences of international migration
Influx of young migrant workers
could potentially challenge national
identity and sovereignty
Immigration leads to: traffic congestion, increased spending on
public services and health, higher taxes, increased population
density and stagnating wages if there's excess labour
CS: Schengen Area
Political tensions
CS: Labour flows across the US-Mexico border
Border control
People trafficking
Physical characteristics: Greece 13,000km of coastline
Migration within countries
CS: Rural-urban migration in China
Movement of labour within countries is usually
unrestricted - two thirds of UK internal migrants had
not moved out of their local constituency (2011 census)
How are nation states defined and how have they evolved in a globalising world?
Nation states are political entities with
sovereignty over their territory and
recognition by other nations
CS: Iceland vs Singapore
Japan is the worlds largest
nation state, with 127 million
people
Origins of national borders
Often linked with physical geography e.g. rivers,
coastlines, mountains (such as the UK-France border)
Historical events e.g. ROI and Northern Ireland
Some borders ignored social and physical
geography and were simply straight lines drawn
on a map e.g. USA-Canada and Mali
Often leads to tension
CS: Iraq's borders and Sunni vs Shiite muslims
Contested borders and conflict
Possible reasons
Valuable resources (Artic ocean seabed), cultural unity, ethnic unity
(Taiwan and China) (North and South Korea), absorption of territory
CS: Republic of China vs
People's Republic of China
Nationalism and the modern world
Nationalism is the shared feeling for a special, significant
geographical area; this may be expressed by political
identification with and a sense of belonging to a nation
Friedrich Hegel said that nationalism holds
modern societies together as religious and
dynastical allegiance are declining
Independence movements since 1945
Colonies were driven by self-determination,
especially after the imperial powers had
fought two world wars
Non-violent protests
CS: India's road to independence
Violent protests
Post-colonial conflict
South Sudan is the world's newest country
as an agreement to end the 2005 civil war.
However, there were still conflicts
between the country's 60 ethnic groups
and there was another civil war in 2013
2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état
Post-colonial migration: conflicts in former British colonies
led to refugee immigration e.g. about 20,000 Hong kong
boat people settled in British cities
Other pull factors include job opportunties (e.g. 1960
British textile industry attracted 1,000,000 Indians
'Wind of change' swept through Africa - 17
countries received indpendence in 1960
The extent of decolonisation was
quite large; the UN had 51 member
states in 1945 but over 120 in 1960
The emergence of new state forms
Tax havens
'Paradise Papers'
Growing inequality - reduces the amount of
money that governments have to spend and this
is particularly severe in many poorer African
countries, according to Christian Aid
What are the impacts of global organisations on managing global issues and
conflicts?
IGO's play a significant role in managing global conflicts
The United Nations (Created in 1945) was the first post-war IGO and the most influential
Some important UN bodies:
World Health Organisation (WHO)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
World Food Programme (WFP)
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
"Aims to achieve international cooperation in
solving international problems of an
economic, social, cultural or humanitarian
character"
Doesn't always engage with solely
political issues, however these are
likely to affect one or more of the
other characteristics e.g. the economy
CS: UN sanctions against Iran
Example of successful UN intervention
"war on terror" - G.W. Bush
Despite much more solid threats from the UN
and a stronger military than its predecessor
(LoN), there are still sometimes 'failures'
The UN is an IGO, however it could be argued that
actually although it plays a significant role in global
affairs, it isn't itself global, due to the power of veto
CS: The UN security council
Some countries, e.g. UK, USA, Russia decide
to act independently of the UN on occassion
Can backfire - e.g. Russia annexing Crimea in
Ukraine led to sanctions on Russian officials,
banning them from entering the US and EU
IGO control of world trade and financial flows
The purpose of the IMF is to look after the stability of
the world economically by helping governments
balance their payments in times of economic difficulty
Countries are given a financial 'rating' and pay a
certain sum towards the IMF dependent on this score
The USA contributes about 18% of the IMF
so has the most influence on it - members
within IGO's don't have equal influence
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD)
Provides loans for rebuilding economies and to alleviate
poverty
Aims to decrease global poverty to only 3%
living on under $1.25 a day by 2030
CS: Jamaica's structural adjustment programme
IGO management of environmental problems
The atmosphere, hydrosphere and certain
parts of the cryosphere are all transboundary
so require cooperation between all countries
Examples of environmental problems managed by IGO's
Successes
Montreal Protocol
Ratified by 197 countries making it the first
universally signed treaty from the UN, governments
acted quickly (only 14 years), reversing damage
done to the environment by CFC's
Antarctic Treaty
All parties meet annually to discuss the treaty, 53
signatory countries, freedom from military activity and
mining, conservation of flora and fauna
Failures
Helsinki Rules
No mechanism in place to enforce the rules,
often international water treaties do not
achieve 'equitable use' or' equitable share'
because one or more parties in the
negotiations has disproportionate political
or socio-economical power and can strongly
influence other countries
What are the threats to national sovereignty in a more globalised world?
National identity and nationalism are powerful forces and have
been the causes of many major conflicts in history.
Nationalism is reinforced through education, sport, culture and politics in a
nation, where loyalty to a favourite team, party or otherwise is emphasised
Sir Andrew Motion, "of all the things that are
sacred to us in England, the countryside is
one of the most precious of them all"
As a result of globalisation, most developed countries and
many developing countries are interconnected
The consequences of national disunity
CS: Catalonia in the EU
Failed states
A failed state means a government has broken down and is characterised by:
Loss of control over its borders
Erosion of legitimate authority in the decision-making process
Inability to have a solid democracy and elect new governments
Lack of recognition and inability to act with other states in the international community
CS: Somalia
Challenges to national identity
Migration of workers and refugees has led to
questions of loyalty and national identity has
become a complex issue
2011 UK census: only
13% of people aged over
75 described their
identity as British and
about half of all people
with black or Asian
ethnicity defined
themselves as British
Terrorism
Led to tensions between Muslim communities in
religiously neutral countries. The Islamic Association
of Britain says that when there are tensions between
the UK and a Muslim country, British Muslims should
support the UK, since they are citizens of the country
'Made in Britain' is an increasingly complex idea because so
many UK-based companies are foreign owned
CS: Foreign ownership of UK utilities
Foreign investors own around 40% of Britain's assets in the water,
energy, transportation and communication sectors
CS: Indian TNC's
Capitalist theory
Capitalism's greatest strength is dynamism,
the ability to change regardless of economic
conditions and replace older markets
This is also it's greatest weakness - the dividing line between
success and failure is often thin and growth and economic
decline can occur at the same time. Instability in one region
can cause a chain reaction