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Regular version of the site

Migration Policy in a Comparative Perspective

2020/2021
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
4
ECTS credits
Course type:
Elective course
When:
3 year, 3, 4 module

Instructor

Course Syllabus

Abstract

International migration is one of the most important issues in world politics and is studied across all disciplines in social sciences. This course provides an analysis of theory and practice of migration policy in comparative perspective. It examines how states, regional organisations (such as the European Union), institutions at global level (such as the United Nations, the International Organisation for Migration or the World Bank) and other non-state actors respond to the challenges of international migration. The course encourages students to assess leading conceptual and theoretical interpretations of the relationship between international migration, the state system and ideas such as sovereignty, rights and protection. These issues, as well as their reflection in border, migration and citizenship regimes, are at the intersection of politics at state/sub-state and regional/global level. The course considers responses to international migration in its various forms in terms of often competing approaches to understanding or “framing” of international migration (as a security concern, as a human rights issue or as a matter of economic development). It also explores the current state of and prospects for global migration governance. The course relies on rich interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical literature on migration focusing, among other, on issues of policy change, convergence and divergence. It begins with a general introduction to our understandings of international migration and reviews major theoretical debates on migration politics and policy-making. It then examines practices of migration governance in North and South America, the European Union, the Asia-Pacific, and the Post-Soviet Region. It also explores paradigms, frames, structures, actors and practices of global migration governance and their localisation in specific regional/national settings. The course concludes by linking issues of global migration governance with global governance in other issue areas.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • To provide students with ability to understand the complex phenomena of international migration and to critically assess migration governance using appropriate theoretical and methodological interdisciplinary approaches.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Understands the nature of international migration
  • Able to identify the differences between forms and types of migration
  • Demonstrates independent and critical understanding of the most important aspects of political responses to international migration
  • Able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical approaches to the study of migration politics
  • Able to identify and to assess critically the competing claims that are made regarding the impact of international migration
  • Able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical approaches to the study of migration policy-making
  • Shows awareness of the relationship between theory and practice in relation to migration governance
  • Able to assess critically theoretical and policy approaches to forced migration
  • Able to analyse migration governance beyond the nation state and make connections between local, national, regional and global levels
  • Understands varying policy responses to international migration at local, state, regional and international level
  • Knows specific features of global migration governance and able to analyse relevant actors and structures in connection with wider dynamics of global governance
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction: What is International Migration? The Politics of International Migration
  • Theoretical Debates on Migration Policy-Making (I): Policy Inputs
  • Theoretical Debates on Migration Policy-Making (II): Policy Outputs
  • Forced Migration: Multiple Policy Dilemmas
  • Methodological Nationalism and Migration Governance beyond the Nation-State
  • Migration Governance in North and South America
  • Migration Governance in the European Union
  • Migration Governance in the Asia-Pacific
  • Migration Governance in the Post-Soviet Region
  • Global Migration Governance
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking In-class participation
    Assessment will be based on preparation of the readings assigned to each tutorial, participation in class discussion with the focus on qualitative contribution to the discussion, ability to answer questions based on the readings, come up with own interpretations and react to comments made by other students. Students are expected to be actively involved in tutorial discussions and in-class group assignments. the mandatory literature assigned to each of the seminars and be ready to apply the information to their own research.
  • non-blocking Presentation (team work)
    Each tutorial (from week 2 to week 10) will commence by a presentation prepared by a small group of students (up to 4 students per group). During the first class (week 1), students should propose for approval by the instructor: 1) composition of their groups; 2) topics for their presentations. These presentations will function as basis for further class discussion. Therefore, presenters are supposed to cover mandatory and optional readings and, preferably, use other non-assigned sources for their analysis on the chosen topic in order to make a genuinely original contribution.
  • non-blocking Position paper
    Each student will write brief (800-1000 words) position paper on the assigned optional readings for one tutorial session of their choice. The paper should be written on any theory-related topic (weeks 2-5). The papers should not summarize the readings. Each paper should evaluate the main argument(s) in the readings. Papers should also compare and contrast the arguments in the readings. Position papers are due by the tutorial sessions that they are related to (i.e. if a student decides to write a position paper on the readings assigned for the tutorial 2, she needs to submit her paper via email before this tutorial).
  • non-blocking Exam (Open Book Essay)
    Open Book Essay (800-1000 words, with a list of references) should be written on a topic from the list provided by the instructor at the start of the exam. The proposed topics will focus on one or several theoretical aspects of the course and/or a case study of migration policy in a particular region. During the open book exam, students are allowed to use any literature or primary sources. The exam is held online in Zoom. The students should log in to Zoom 5 minutes before the start of the exam, switch on their cameras and mircrophones. After they have selected their essay topics, the students will need to complete their essays within 2 hours. The students should keep their cameras on during the entire examination. In case of long-term disconnection (5 minutes and more), the student may not continue the examination.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (4 module)
    0.25 * Exam (Open Book Essay) + 0.25 * In-class participation + 0.25 * Position paper + 0.25 * Presentation (team work)
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Alexander Betts. (2009). Forced Migration and Global Politics. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Alexander Betts. (2011). Global Migration Governance. OUP Oxford.
  • Carens, J. H. (1987). Aliens and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034670500033817
  • Caroline B. Brettell, & James F. Hollifield. (2014). Migration Theory : Talking Across Disciplines: Vol. 3rd ed. Routledge.
  • Castles, S. (2004). Why migration policies fail. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 27(2), 205–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141987042000177306
  • CZAIKA, M., & DE HAAS, H. (2013). The Effectiveness of Immigration Policies. Population & Development Review, 39(3), 487–508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00613.x
  • Geddes, A. (2019). The Dynamics of Regional Migration Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Geddes, A., & Boswell, C. (2011). Migration and Mobility in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Gibney, M. J. (1999). Liberal Democratic States and Responsibilities to Refugees. American Political Science Review, 01, 169.
  • Lavenex, S. (2019). Regional migration governance – building block of global initiatives? Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 45(8), 1275–1293. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1441606
  • McMahon, S., & Talani, L. S. (2015). Handbook of the International Political Economy of Migration. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Money, J. (1997). No Vacancy: The Political Geography of Immigration Control in Advanced Industrial Countries. https://doi.org/10.1162/002081897550492
  • Orrenius, P. M., Martin, P. L., & Hollifield, J. F. (2014). Controlling Immigration : A Global Perspective, Third Edition: Vol. Third edition. Stanford University Press.
  • S. Massey, Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela Pellegrino, J. Edward Taylor, & Douglas S. Massey. (1993). Theories of international migration: A review and appraisal. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.3205467E
  • The Oxford handbook of the politics of international migration edited by Marc R. Rosenblum and Daniel J. Tichenor. (2018).
  • Triandafyllidou, A. (2018). Handbook of Migration and Globalisation. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Virginie Guiraudon, & Christian Joppke. (2001). Controlling a New Migration World. Routledge.
  • Virginie Guiraudon. (2000). European Integration and Migration Policy: Vertical Policy‐making as Venue Shopping. Journal of Common Market Studies, 2, 251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5965.00219

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • A. Pécoud. (2014). Depoliticising Migration : Global Governance and International Migration Narratives. Palgrave Pivot.
  • Alexander Betts. (2013). Survival Migration : Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement. Cornell University Press.
  • Gibney, M. J. (2004). The Ethics and Politics of Asylum : Liberal Democracy and the Response to Refugees. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gil Loescher. (2001). The UNHCR and World Politics : A Perilous Path. OUP Oxford.
  • Guiraudon, V. (2004). No One is Illegal: Asylum and Immigration Control Past and Present. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/17.1.142
  • Lahav, G. (1998). Immigration and the state: the devolution and privatisation of immigration control in the EU. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 24(4), 675. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.1998.9976660
  • Nyberg-Sørensen, N., Van Hear, N., & Engberg-Pedersen, P. (2002). The Migration-Development Nexus Evidence and Policy Options State-of-the-Art Overview. International Migration, 40(5), 3. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2435.00210
  • Randall Hansen, Jobst Koehler, & Jeannette Money. (2011). Migration, Nation States, and International Cooperation. Routledge.
  • Rother, S. (2019). The Global Forum on Migration and Development as a venue of state socialisation: a stepping stone for multi-level migration governance? Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 45(8), 1258–1274. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1441605
  • Schierup, C.-U., Likić-Brborić, B., Wise, R. D., & Toksöz, G. (2018). Migration, civil society and global governance: an introduction to the special issue. Globalizations, 15(6), 733–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2018.1503840
  • Tiziana Caponio, Peter Scholten, & Ricard Zapata-Barrero. (2019). The Routledge Handbook of the Governance of Migration and Diversity in Cities. Routledge.