Global Immigration Trends and Security Issues

Catalog description

Amidst the broader trends of international politics that address the growing flow of goods, capital, and information across state borders, the movement of people is a permanent and expanding feature. However, central to the notion of the political identity of the nation-state is the ability to control the entry of non-citizens. The regulatory power of the nation-state to control its borders is at least threatened by the migratory movements of people. People are driven from their homes by conditions of war, economic difficulty, or environmental disaster. Millions of people migrate permanently each year, and about 20 million are refugees and seek political asylum worldwide. The vast majority of refugees are women and children--this is the hidden truth of the post-Cold War order, huge numbers of displaced women and children. These numbers are significant, particularly since the general movement heads in one direction, toward advanced industrial states, mainly Western Europe and the United States. About 35 million legal and illegal immigrants live in the United States. Immigrants account for 11.5 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in 70 years. Critics warn that if current trends continue, by the end of this decade the immigrant share of the total population will surpass the all time high of 14.8 percent reached in 1890. Understanding immigration and refugee issues in this interdependent world will help us to gain insights into the workings of political, economic, and social forces both within receiving and sending states as well as the international regime which regulates these movements. The topics addressed in this course go beyond simple models of utility and efficiency since the questions of immigration and political asylum are often deeply emotional issues for societies; the issue also has a significant moral dimension.