Globalization and international migration - Essay Example

?Globalization and International Migration Globalisation can be defined as the spread and interconnectedness of the relationships of people, culturesand economic activities globally. Economic globalisation, in particular, is the spread and interconnectedness of technologies, production and communication. A similar description of globalisation is given by Giddens who states that globalisation is the intensification of global social relations that join or link distant localities in a manner that happenings in the local area are shaped by events taking place thousands of miles away even as local happenings shape the events that take place thousands of miles away (Castells 64). International migration, on the other hand, simply refers the movement of people across international borders, either within a region or overseas/across continents. In the contemporary world, international migration is a core aspect of globalization. However, it is evident that international migration is rarely considered in the current discussions of globalisation, and even if it is, the debate is limited to a residual category. This shows that the contribution made by migration globally in the intensification of relations in the fields of labor and economic activities, cultural affairs and values, and social and political links has been ignored. By examining the interactive nature of globalization and international migration, this paper analyses the critical nature of international migration to globalization in the light of the current restrictions on international movements imposed by various governments. The Interactive Nature of Globalization and International Migration International migration is a central factor in the achievement of economic, social, political, and cultural transformation, their spread and interconnectedness. It has also been argued that population mobility is a crucial element of transnational networks and cross-border flows that constitute globalisation. In the previous eras of globalisation, the development of flows and contacts between different cultures and societies took place side by side with population movements. In particular, massive human migrations played a key role in the first phase of globalisation. This occurred between the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. Many countries also trace their experiences of economic, social, political and cultural transformations and interconnectedness to the colonial and post colonial times. Colonisation involved massive international migration where the colonialists moved to various parts of Africa and America conquering societies and colonising them. In some cases, it also involved forced labour migration in the form of slave trade. Although many of the colonised nations suffered at these times, colonisation can be said to have been crucial in bringing about globalisation in these areas, which led to drastic, economic, socio-cultural and political changes in them. At these times, the colonial governments helped to establish important transnational networks which facilitated the flow of labour, goods, finance, technologies ideas, and practices between the colonies, the colonisers and other political establishments. In respect to the above discussions, the present scenario of globalisation is paradoxical. Currently, the world is interconnected more than ever. Technological, trade and financial flows have been liberalised, but contrastingly, the mobility of individuals across borders runs up against the stringiest ever barriers which restrict it. Tapinos and Delaunay (48) observe that international migration seems to be completely excluded from the current globalization process. This exclusion is the greatest contrast between the new trends in the global economy and the two great previous globalization periods. By leaving out the factor of human mobility, this narrow view of globalization raises a threefold question of economic efficacy, ethics, political realism, and the question relating to the long-term sustainability of the world development strategy. Castles and Davidson (85) explain that the difficulties placed in international migration at a time when real-time exchanges across borders are being promoted reveal the asymmetrical aspects of the new form of globalization. The promotion of real time exchanges across borders implies that the end barriers, which interfere with the free circulation of ideas and goods, are being demolished. However, it can clearly be pointed out that by taking this shape, this new form of globalization includes some regions, countries, population groups, and individuals while simultaneously excluding others. In the past globalisation periods, for example, the first phase of globalisation, the number of people migrating across borders was small. Despite being small, this number represented a significant proportion of the total human population at that time compared to the present level of international migration. The movement also led to a global boom in trade during this period. This is a clear indication of the limited degree of international migration under the present globalization compared to its level of financial and economic globalization and general interconnectedness between different localities. Currently, the free movement of people across nations is limited almost exclusively given regions of the world, for example, the European Union. Such restrictions on international migration should, therefore, be the subject of case-by-case negotiations and debates on international agreements that will see the permitting of temporary cross border movements of individuals who possess qualifications that are directly connected with the provision of services or business. Without this, this globalization can be said to be incomplete and unsustainable because the exchange of human ideas and practices forms one of its basic ingredients. According to Held et al (2), true globalization is characterized by the deepening, widening and speeding of global interconnectedness in all aspects of social life. This means that the key indicator of globalization is fast increase in cross-border flows of all kinds like people, media, products, trade, ideas, finance and pollution. This also shows the embeddedness of international migration in the broader processes of demographic, social, economic, cultural and political change. Both local and international migration presents a powerful way in which societies, groups and individuals rebuild or sustain their livelihoods under the conditions of rapid global changes. Castells (163) explains that the key organizing structure for these important flows is the transnational network developed and this can take the form of global markets, transnational corporations, international organizations, transnational cultural communities or even global criminal syndicates. This means that a restriction on international migration can be one sure way of limiting the sustainability and the progress of the existing globalization process. For example, as much as they will source much of their labor from the local society, multinational companies will always need to transfer a given percentage of its labor across borders when establishing in other countries. These are mainly the people who will perform the core functions of the company. From the descriptions of globalization given above, one can easily point out that globalization has four powerful dimensions namely social, economic, political and cultural dimensions. It is also clear that globalisation involves the diffusion of technologies, ideas and practices. Generally, the spread and interconnectedness of technologies, production and communication has been achieved through the interlacing of cultural and economic activity. The definition of globalisation given by Giddens also implies that the influence exerted by distant localities on each other involves a change in the way people in these regions perceive geography and experience localness. It is only such a change in perception that can allow people to take a risks involved with globalisation like technological changes. At the same time, such a powerful change in perception requires some level of real experiences with such technologies instead of virtual experiences. For example, it will be easy for the people of country A to embrace a given technology produced in country B if they saw some people from country B or their own people returning from country B using or explaining about the technology. This gives them a chance for witnessing the benefits that come along with this technology and compare with their existing technologies. All these point to the importance of international migration in the significant achievement of globalisation among the various societies in the world. Examples of regions that have experienced economic globalization as a result of massive emigration of its citizens are the Latin America and the Caribbean. In the recent decades, the two regions have been important sources of outward migration to various destinations. As per the year 2000, migrants from the two regions accounted for 1 out of every 10 of the 150 million international migrants (eclac.org1). This gives a figure of close to 20 million Caribbean and Latin American citizens. This figure is expected to be higher as it takes not into account people who have do not have official migration papers, those who migrate and work basing on an irregular programs. Half of this population migrated during the 1990s, and one of the major destinations was the United States of America. These migration periods accompanied the different development phases of Caribbean countries and Latin America. The present migration among the citizens of these countries is now smaller in scale, and this can be attributed partly to the decreased attractiveness of the main destination countries and partly due to strict migration laws. This example shows that the huge and persistent inequality in economic development between the countries is one of the basic determinants of migration across borders. This should be the reason why constructive and systematic international migration should be encouraged. In addition, the above discussions not only point to the importance of international migration in driving globalization but also maintaining this interconnectedness. The main cause of national and international migration is the efforts of individuals to maximize their income by migrating from low-wage economies to high-wage economies. Although the movement of people tends to be polarized towards the high-wage economies, this does not apply to other flows characteristic of globalization. Instead, international migration can be said to generate a converse flow of other types of other types of flows characteristic of globalization like economy, technology, and media among others. A practical illustration on this criticality of international migration in the realisation of globalisation of this is where international migration results to social and cultural transformations in both sending and receiving societies. Where young, active workers depart from their country, there is a possibility of the country experiencing a reduction in productive capacity and demographic imbalances. On the other hand, the money they send back home or remittances could form an important source of capital for economic investments leading to economic development in their home countries. At the same time, immigrants returning from abroad could become powerful agents of cultural change and technology transfer. This shows that these movements help to link areas that had been previously been isolated to the broader market, both at the national and international level, which is a good way of achieving economic development. Where the links between the releasing and receiving countries are so deep, international migration can lead to the development of ties and an integrated system between two countries. An example of such a ties is the pairing formed by the US and Mexico. Migrants from both countries represent a significant percentage of the international migrants present in both countries. Mexican migrants to the U.S., for example, have formed a critical mass to an extent that the interdependence between Mexico and the U.S. extends to the sensitive nature of their socio-economic structures. These ties are also deep to the extent that administrative boundaries between Mexico and the US have in a sense been blurred by the actual extending of the large overflows between them. No nation has lost its sovereignty in this. Reasons for restrictions on international migration International migration can be said to have been limited by both the governments of the country of origin and desired destination country. For some reasons, many governments are not ready to embrace or allow for international migration. The sending governments, for example, do not want to lose its people, especially experts, permanently. On the other hand, the receiving governments are strongly against the idea of immigrants settling in their country. In Asian labour-importing countries, the prospects of growing cultural diversity, formation of ethnic community and the emergence of multicultural societies are such an issue while the idea of turning immigrants into citizens is almost unthinkable (Castles 1). There is also an assumption that huge international migration will reduce the autonomy of the receiving government and become a threat to national identity and sovereignty. There is also an assumption that it could result the growth of unplanned urban settlement. However, analysis shows that there is a huge gap between what is normally imagined about immigration in terms of its magnitude and consequences. Although there is still a need of evidence that is sounder and more general, the evidence which exists is also reliable and contrasts the simple opinions which stress on the negative repercussions of international migration. Such opinions only serve to increase prejudices against international migrants and the feeling of rejection against some of them. Issues Arising from Government Limitation on International Migration In the present day global society, many migrants move across borders despite the persistent barriers to entry to their destinations. Just like colonialists and other international immigrants of the past globalisation periods, many of these people are economically motivated when moving towards their choice of destination. This motivation surpasses the fear of any possible legal repercussions in case they are caught. This picture of international migration clearly indicates the incompatibility between the strict and restrictive approaches to migration that have been adopted by the international community in a world that is moving toward increased liberalisation of other flows. From this observation, it is rational to state that the inconsistency between the level of international migration and globalisation accounts for the increase in the number of people moving across borders without official papers. This inconsistency can also be blamed for the emergence of transit areas which illegal migrants use to gain entry into foreign lands. In addition, such a scenario can be said to provide fertile grounds for the crimes like human trafficking across frontiers. The rise of such happenings deeply highlights the need to develop and promote broader agreements among countries across the globe in order to secure better governance of the unavoidable issue of international migration. There is also a need to foster complete respect for the rights of migrants and the need to recognise the important role that the civil society can play in formulating measures relating to human migrations. Conclusion Globalisation involves a global deepening, widening, spread and interconnectedness in all aspects of life leading to cross-border flows of many types like people, media, products, trade, ideas, finance and practices. Evidence from the past and the current phase of migration indicate that by linking societies together, international migration plays an important role in the attainment of social, cultural, economic, technological, and political changes in many countries. This makes international migration a key aspect of globalization. Most governments have failed to take this into consideration and this has led to incompatibility between the strict approaches to migration and the rate at which other components of migration. This is a drawback in a world that is moving towards increased liberalisation of other flows. Despite the negative evidences that exist regarding international migration and the fears that governments have, there is a need to for negotiations and debates on that will see the permitting of temporary cross border movements of individuals who possess qualifications that are directly connected with the provision of services or business. Works Cited Canales, Alejandro and Armas, Israel. A world without borders?: Mexican immigration, internal borders and transnationalism in the United States. 2006. 12th March, 2012. Web http://www.onlineunesco.org/conferencias/tele7/World%20without%20borders%20CANALES-MONTIEL.pdf. Castells Manuel. (2001) 'Information technology and global capitalism' in W. Hutton and A. Giddens. (eds.) On The Edge. Living with global capitalism, London: Vintage. Print. Castles Stephen (2000). Migration as a factor in social transformation in East Asia. Presented to a Conference on Migration and Development Princeton University 4-6 May 2000. 12th March, 2012. Web. http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/press/010castles.pdf. Retrieved on 12th March, 2012. Castles, Stephen and Davidson, Alastair. Citizenship and migration: globalization and the politics of belonging. 2000. Print. Held, David, McGrew, Anthony, Goldblatt, David and Perraton, Jonathan. Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture. Cambridge: Polity. 1999. Print. Tapinos, Georges and Delaunay, Daniel. Can One Really Talk of the Globalization Migration Flows? Globalization. Migration and Development. Paris: OECD. 2000. Print. www.eclac.org. International migration and globalization. 2003. 12th March, 2012. Web http://www.eclac.org/celade/noticias/paginas/6/11186/LCG2157_chap8_i.pdf. Read More