University of Helsinki
Liisa Laakso: New approaches in (im)migration and transnational studies
Policy approaches on immigration are no more centred only on multiculturalism and migrants’ integration in their host societies, but also on their roles and impacts in transnational contexts. Partly this reflects contemporary discourse on security, which has become increasingly intertwined with human mobility. In the counter-terrorism policy thinking, immigrants or refugees coming from conflict areas are seen as potential security threats to their host countries. They can “import” wars from their home regions in the form of clashes between subgroups of one migrant group or attacks against diplomats or other official representatives of “conflict parties” and their assumed allies. Or they can take part in a more abstract and ideological struggle against global injustices where the prosperous and culturally dominant West appears to be the natural enemy. Yet most of the recent terrorism-related charges brought against migrants in Europe concern attacks outside Europe or the planning of such attacks and recruitment of “foreign fighters”.
Many roles of migrants
New approaches stem also from the more general features of globalisation: human communication across long distances is faster and easier than ever before. This includes physical travel, media coverage, mobile and Internet connections, as well as money transfers. In 2013, for instance, according to the World Bank, remittances sent by migrants to developing countries totalled 404 billion USD, which is more than twice the amount of net official development assistance (ODA) of 134.8 billion USD. For some recipient countries, remittances can represent up to one third of their GDP. Continue reading “New approaches in (im)migration and transnational studies”