Why has Migration Become a Political Aspect in the Post Cold War Period - Research Paper Example

Migration Why it became a political aspect in the post-Cold War period? Introduction Migration has been a common phenomenon from the prehistoric days. The migrations of the humans are the movement of the people from one region to the other in search of better housing, food, religious freedom etc. In the older days, the migration of the humans took place because of the chances of better livelihood. The needs of the people in the older days were restricted to food and they moved from one region to the other in search of the better locality for farming or hunting. This was one of the main reasons for the construction of the civilizations on the banks of the river like the Indus and the Nile. The rivers provided the land on which farming was easier. In the modern days migration has continued and the basic factor influencing the migration remains the same- the prospect of better livelihood. With the development of the transportation facilities, the migration of the modern days often connects the continents. The migration in the modern days can be intercontinental, intracontinental and interregional. The first type of the migration takes place between the different continents while the second type happens between the different countries of the same continents. The third type is the most widely practiced form of migration where the people from the villages or the urban areas come to the cities in search of livelihood. Migration happens voluntarily or involuntarily. The voluntary migration takes place when the people go to the other regions at their own will. The involuntary migration takes place when they are compelled to shift to the other regions as a result of some policies of the Governments or because of wars. The people from the underdeveloped regions of the world have been moving to the developed parts in search of better livelihood. They may move to the other places for job opportunities, education, for religious freedom, because of some wars etc. The modern day migration has been accelerated by the development of the transportation and communication between the countries. The increase in migration in the world today has given birth to various problems – economic and social. The people from the other regions are not accepted in the alien societies and they feel “out of place” in the new world. The immigrants dominate the economic conditions of the country where the people migrate, for example, USA, and this makes the condition of the natives poor. This results in the rise of the revolts and the social uprisings in parts of the society. The emergence of the Cold War- one of the longest wars in the history of the mankind changed the situation of the geopolitical history of the world. The erstwhile USSR or the Soviet Union broke into various other countries and there were mass immigration between the countries. After the completion of the Cold War the migration of the human beings from one region to the other went on to become a chief political factor for the various countries and stringent laws were developed for restricting the mass immigration. The paper will deal with the changes in the scope of the migration post Cold War and will see if there is anything new about the change. (Manning, 2005: Pp 157-165). History of Migration Migration has been important in the development of the human civilization of the modern world. It was in the pre historic age that the people from the different parts of the world migrated to the fertile lands near the rivers and the seas. This was done to develop the means of the livelihood and civilizations developed along the rivers. These civilizations were the bases for the existence of the human civilization. Therefore, migration can be said to have played a big part in the development of the human civilization. The earliest known man lived in the continent of Africa on the banks of the Nile and the Central Africa. The main livelihood of the natives was hunting. Four groups from the group leaving in the region went to the other parts of the continent. The group, which went to the northern part of the Africa, crossed the continent and went toward Asia. However, the group died because of a natural calamity, which turned the area into snow. The area turned to desert and the people died of hunger. 85,000 years ago, another group of people from the region crossed the Red Sea and went towards the plains of Asia. The people of the Non African origin is be borne out of them. They went to the continent of Asia and covered the plains of India. They were traveling down the shore of the Indian Ocean. The landmass of Indonesia was attached to Asia and they went to the country and continued their journey northwards to China. At this time, volcanic eruption took place in the Indian subcontinent and there was mass destruction. Most of the people died in the Indian subcontinent. After the stability of the environment, the people from the continent of Asia crossed the oceans by boats and reached the lands of Australia. Some 50,000 years ago, a cold wave descended in the world and that enabled the group of people from Africa and India to move to the landmass of Asia. The people reached the countries of Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria. At the same time, the people from the Asian region moved northwards. They took the path via Pakistan to the Middle East and via Tibet to the Qing-Hai plateau. The two groups met in the region of Europe and they continued their ascent towards the northern part of Eurasia. From the eastern parts of the Eurasia, the group went to the continent of America crossing the Berring Land Bridge. The Last Ice Age descended and the land in the upper part of the 55th parallel was heavily affected. Most of the people in the area died of severe cold. After the Ice Age, the people beneath the 55th parallel went to the continent of South America and developed a rich diversity of culture and society. Various centers of civilization developed in Luzia and Monte Verde in Chile. The civilizations in the area were rich in the ethnic and cultural diversity. After the collapse of the Ice Age, the people from the lower parts of America moved to the Northern parts and the various centers were established. These people became the Eskimos and the Aleuts. With the collapse of the Ice Age, various centers of agriculture developed in the centers of human habitation. After the development of the agriculture in the various regions of the world, different centers of civilization took place and that was the ascent of the human development. (Manning,2005 : Pp 1-40) The migration of the earliest people from the lands of Africa is in many ways responsible for the development of the human civilization. The lands of North America, Asia and Europe would have been unknown to mankind if they did not migrate. Migration during the Cold War The Cold War is the term associated with the relation between USA and Russia after the 2nd World War. The tie-up between the two states was not friendly and they had only one thing in common- the enemy. They fought as allies against Germany but after the completion of the war, there were conflicts between the two countries in the case of the other countries. In the 1990s, the Cold War ended officially underwriting a massive change in the global political and the economic system. One of the most important changes in the global economic and the political world was the destruction of the Soviet Union. In addition to the destruction of the Soviet Union, there were other factors that led to the end of the Cold War and the integration of the Western European countries into a same economic and political market. There were traces of nationalism in the countries of Europe and the erstwhile states of the Soviet Union. The growth of the Western Europe into a distinct political body brought with it several issues. The countries were integrated into a single system and people from one country move to the other countries with ease. There was a huge security agenda in the countries and this was aggravated by the civil wars in the former countries of the Soviet Union. There was a huge issue regarding the integration of the people from the other countries to the societies. The Governments of the countries were engaged to provide the defense mechanisms for the existing societies. The Western Europe was the area to be integrated wholly and the people in the area like the Catalans and the Scots got freedom to move around the countries with practically no restrictions. The Eastern part of Europe was faced with different kind of problems. The geography of the area changed with the destruction of the Soviet Union and the area was characterized by the birth of the several nations. The nations were the parts of the earlier Soviet Union and there were free movements of the people between the different states. However, the main problem of the area was the birth of the Governments and these states had no knowledge of the global political world. There were traces of Communism in the new countries as the after effects of the Soviet Union and these countries were generally poor. The condition of the state of affairs in these countries was dictated by the Soviet Union earlier and after the independence the countries did not want to get drafted into another entity. However, some of the countries like Georgia was attracted to the construction of the single market concept. After the independence of the countries, the affairs were still dictated by Russia and in the statement published by Russia in 1992 stated that any infringement on the Russians living outside the country or to any nationals who is traditionally attached to the Russian philosophy would give rise to a conflict. Therefore, at the aftermath of the Cold war there was chaos in the whole continent of Europe. The Western part of the continent was contemplating the idea of formation of a single market and the main issue was the security measures of the citizens. On the other hand, the Eastern part of the continent was aggravated by the rise of the civil wars and conflicts. There was political and economic turmoil in the continent during the period. There were traces of fragmentation in the continent at the aftermath of the Cold War and the heads of the states in the continent understood the importance of the integration in the continent. The Governments of the different countries in the continent tried to provide the social security to the societies. This was done mainly to save the societies from the threats of immigration of the people from the other countries. (Krause, 12th May, 2010: Pp 2-5) A concept of the societal security emerged at the aftermath of the Cold War. The Governments of the different countries understood that with the rise of the immigration from the different countries there was a threat to the security of the society in the countries. The scope of the migration changed after the completion of the Cold War and the policies of the Government changed after the analysis of the threats and the risks. (Ceyhan & Tsoukala, 2002: Pp 21-40: Atland, 12th May, 2010: Pp 2-4) Risks and Threats With the completion of the Cold War, the scope of the politics in the continent of Europe changed and there were thoughts from the Government to protect the social security of the citizens in the country. The society is recognised to be a group of people unified the underlying similarity of belongingness. Therefore, the society can be said to be similar to the country. The society was recognised to be the country at the end of the Cold War by the different countries in the continent and the security concerns of the society led to the threats against the state. There were different groups in the construction of the society. With the development of the common market, the interests of the different groups had to be kept in mind. With the formation of the single market concept, the old notion of the nationalism stepped in. The people of the different countries were fed with the thoughts of the nationalism. The nationalism agenda of the people of the different countries fuelled the rise of the different constituents of divide among the people of the society. One of the most important components of the division was the religion. Though the religious ideas engulfed the whole humankind it led to the birth of the different subgroups in the society. The nationalist and the religious principles in the society led to the growth of the sentiments of belongingness to the people in the region. The rise of the nationalism and the religious identities of the people were instrumental in the division of the society and this gave rise to the conflicts among the people in the different regions. The people from the various regions were moving freely to the different regions and this gave rise to the conflicts between the people from the different societies. In Europe, there were conflicts between the Greek Christians and the Muslim people of Turkey. This underlined the fact of security of the society in the country. The nationalism sentiment rose from the days of the French Revolution and the people began to think that they belonged to the nations. The nationalism sentiment rose with the rise of the different languages and the cultures in the regions of the continent. The different countries of the Europe had different sets of languages and cultures and this underlined the fact that the people from the different regions were different. People from Spain had different language and culture from the people of Portugal. With the rise of the migration between the different countries there was a definite impact on the culture and the language of the countries. (Melander, Oberg and Hall, 12th may, 2010: Pp 2-6) When the people from one country came to the society of the other country there was a definite feeling of being threatened. The citizens of the countries felt that the heritage of their culture was threatened and with the mixture of people in the society their tradition will suffer. In terms of pious feelings the sentiments were even stronger. The people of one religion felt threatened by the influx of the people from the other religions. The Christians were feeling threatened by the influx of the Muslims in the countries. At the aftermath of the Cold War the feelings of nationalism and religious sentiments dominated the feelings of the society and the togetherness. The Governments sensed that there were chances of serious backlash of the regulation and order in the state and they drew upon the plan of the societal security. They understood the importance of providing security to the existing citizens of the country. Otherwise, they may turn against the Government. Another factor was the aggression of the enemy states those can take chances of the political disorder in the country and attack. The Governments found it suitable to maintain law and order in the country by providing societal security to the existing society to the country. The forces from the outside threatened the society and the Governments of the different countries worked towards the development of a social security system. (Burgess, 12th May, 2010: Pp 4-5) In the age of migration, the concept of the societal security was the most important and the concept consisted of the “military, political, economic, environmental, and societal” factors. (Waever, 1993: P 24). The Governments from the different countries looked to stabilize the society of the countries by providing these security measures. Though there was sufficient operation in the field of providing security measures to the countries the countries in the Western part of the continent was on the verge of enlisting itself into a single market and there were certain developments on the international political front. (Waever, 1993; Pp 1-40). The decade of the 1990s was marked by tremendous development in the field of business and commerce. The development of the business and the trading activities were abided by the development of the science and the technology. The development of the business and commerce in the global front had an effect on the economy of the countries all over the world. Europe being one of the most developed continents with the presence of the global superpowers like England and USA also had a tremendous effect. The globalization was the buzzword and every country in the world was looking to deregulate the economy. This would help in the development of the economy with the transactions from all over the world. The growth of the trade and commerce was also one of the main features in this period. The countries of Europe faced a growing concern of the societal security concerns in the one hand and the opportunity of integrating into the global fold on the other. With the rise of the globalization of the economies the scope of the migration increased. With the globalization of the economy, the companies from one country came to the other country to set up operation. With the organization of the operation in the other countries, there were people coming into the country to work. The people from the other countries threatened the cultural and the religious heritage of the countries. In this case, also there was a sense of nationalism and religious sentiments. In the first part of the single market process, the countries of Europe were troubled by the involvement of the military forces in the society of the country. This happened when there was influx of people of diverse backgrounds in the country in large numbers. The military of the country in some situations formulated massacre of a large number of people in the society. This happened when the military regime in the country represented one community in the country. The incidents in Yugoslavia confirm the view. The military regime felt that the people of the other backgrounds threatened the society and they proceeded to destroy the other people. This led to the conflicts in the society and the stability of the society was threatened. In the case of the political world, the breaking of the Soviet Union aggravated the Eastern Europe and there was insecurity in the country. There were dearth of law and order as the countries were newly formed and that led to the rise in tensions in the country. This had an effect in the economic sector as well. The former Government of the Soviet Union was Communist and with the breaking of the region there was traces of the development of the capitalism. The development of the economy in the global economy was based on capitalism and the countries in the region were changing the economy into capitalism. The countries in the continent were changing into the idea of a common market and there were representation of the community as a whole in the global bodies like the NATO. There were differences in the development of the continent. The Western parts of the continent were involved with the creation of the single body while the Eastern part was engaged in the political turmoil. The conflicts in the Eastern part of the continent were dangerous as it endangered the lives of the millions of citizens in the country. This led to the conflicts between different countries and that stretched to wars. The wars made the countries economically retarded. The war of Yugoslavia made the region a hotbed of conflicts for the different countries in the regions and there was tensions underlying the region. The Eastern part was more involved with the development of the region with the creation of a single body. In the early part of the 1990s, the creation of the single body in the western part of the Europe was engaged in the economic integration. Therefore, there was a problem in the cultural integration of the country and there were lack of support from various countries. Therefore, the institutionalization of the Eastern Europe was not cleared of controversy. It was after the treaty in 1992 that the single body of the European community came up formally. Therefore, at the aftermath of the Cold War, the condition in Europe was far from peaceful. With the globalization process, there was a rise in the immigration of the people from the different countries. The Western part of the Europe faced the problems of making the region dominated by one market while the Eastern part of the continent was engulfed in ethnic wars and clashes. In both the case, the society was the most effected. The people in the society were tormented by the wars in the Eastern Europe while in the Western Europe, the people felt threatened by the influx of the people from the other countries. There was tension in the continent and it was after the formation of the European Union, that the condition came under control. In the case of the other parts of the world like the Middle East, there was a subtle change in the society after the completion of the Cold War. After the Cold War, the US and the Russian forces withdrew from the regions of Asia and the other parts of the world. The Asian region being close to that of Europe found a big market of the oil products in the developed nations of the world. The economy of the countries developed and there were high migration of the people to the developed countries. This was a perceived threat to the society of the developed countries as the people from Asia were from different origin and were culturally distinctive. Various cultural practices from the people of Asia were imported into the societies of Europe. (Waever, 1993: Pp 50-98) Impacts of Migration In the decade of the 1990s, the migration became a worldwide phenomenon most parts of the world were affected by it. It was seen that the migration phenomenon took place from the developing or the underdeveloped countries of the world to the developed nations. This had a significant effect on all parts of the society. These can be described as follows: Economic: The economic effects on the countries where the people migrated were two fold. With the increase in the migration in the developed countries like the UK and the USA, the country experienced a high level of population growth In addition to the migration of the people from the different countries; there was increase in the health facilities of the world. This resulted in the increase of the population of the countries. With the increase of the population in the country, the pressure on the economy was enormous. The Economy had to arrange for the livelihood for the people migrating to the other countries. The people migrating to the other countries were generally hard working and talented. They generally took the coveted positions in the economy. The natives of the country were stranded and that led to the rise of the tensions in the society. The people from the region were not getting entry to the gains of the economy. On the other hand, the migration of the people from the parent country resulted in the dearth of talents in the parent country. Most of the talented group of people went to the other countries and the country was left with lesser options in the development of the economy. This effected the development of the country from where the people migrated. However, it cannot be denied that the migration of the people helped in the development of the economy of the country where the people migrated. The people worked hard for the development of their standard of living and the country benefited with the development of the economy. (Duffield, 2007; Pp 67-73; Sorensen, Hear & Pedersen, 2002: Pp 10-17) Cultural: Perhaps the most effected part of the society was the culture. With the migration of the people from the other countries, the foreign nationals penetrated the society of the country. The culture of the people in the foreign countries is different from that of the people in the native country. The people from the other countries came to be integrated into the society of the foreign country. It was natural that they inherited a large part of their culture and behavioral traits from the native countries. When they came to the societies of the foreign countries, they carried the attributes with them. They were naturally lost with the traits of the foreign culture. It needed considerable amount of time to get used to the traits and the attitudes of the people in the foreign countries. In addition to this, the people in the foreign countries also viewed them as aliens. They were not used to the cultural traits of the countries and this led to the rise of the tensions among the people. The people in the foreign countries felt threatened by the influx of the immigrants and their different culture. The migration gave rise to the mixing of the culture and in the modern world there has been a rise of a global culture. With the development of the transport and communication and spurred on by the technology, the culture of different societies has mixed. This has been a lengthy process and has given rise to tensions and conflicts between people of diverse environment. (Duffield, 2006) Social: With the rise in the immigration, there has been a sense of threat to the societies of different countries. The immigration has led to the influx of the different sets of people of various backgrounds to set their foot in the different countries. The people from the different backgrounds do not subscribe to the feelings of nationalism and they are not concerned in the development of the society in general. The rise of migration has led to the attacks of terrorism in developed countries like USA and UK. The society has gone under a gradual transformation. In the modern world, the societies of various countries have a large ratio of the immigrants. The immigrants with their different religion, culture and ethnicity transform the social structure of the country. (Muller, 2004: Pp 49-57) Political: The political world has a massive responsibility of managing the flow of the immigrants to the country. The immigrants are attracted to the countries, which are economically developed. The people come from the developing and the underdeveloped countries. With the economic development in some countries, like the USA in full swing, it became imperative for the Government to control the influx of immigration. The rise of the immigrants puts pressure on the economic and social structure of the country. This may lead to the ethnic clashes in the countries, which may result in the loss of lives. Therefore, the Government has wakened up to the challenge and made changes in the rules and the regulations regarding the influx of immigrants in the countries. (Sorensen, Hear & Pedersen, 2002: Pp 17-22; Goede, 7th February, 2010: Pp 2-6) Are these aspects new? The recent increase in the migration process and the effects are different tom that of the migration process in the olden days. In the prehistoric age, the migrations of the people were necessary for the growth of the civilization. At that time, the migration was not engulfed in the problems of the modern generation and the people mixed easily. That was influential in the development of the culture in various areas of the world. In the modern day, the global world has developed economically and socially and the conflicts and the wars have given rise to the boundaries of the nations. The migration in the modern day has been a problem for the countries to some extent with the economy being pressurized. The rise of the nationalism meant that the people are aware of their culture and they are interested in protecting it. This has given rise to the conflicts and wars. There has been a rise in the number of the NGOs and the charitable bodies for the development of the estranged people. The Governments of the countries had no option other than to control the flow of the migrants. This is in complete contrast to the migration of the older days where there were no Governments and the people moved from one part of the world to the other. Today, it is being controlled. The control has become necessary as the economy is being pressurized. Moreover, with the rise of the migration, there has been a rise in the amount of terrorism activities in the developed countries. It has been a problem for the developed countries of the world. With the rise of the migration there has been an increase in the trafficking activities of humans. The women are the most effected in the case of the trafficking activities. There has been physical suffering of the women and they are used for sex trade. From this view point it can be said that the migration should be controlled and the Governments of the different countries are doing the right thing in deriving policies, rules and regulations to decrease the flow. It has become inevitability in the modern world. (Duffield, 2001: Pp 15-18; Bigo, 2002: Pp 63-67; Aradau, 2004).. Conclusions Migration has been a constituent of the development of the human civilization. The migration has been an integral part of the human civilization. The system of migration has undergone a huge change in the last century after the completion of the Cold War. Before, the Cold War, the migration of the people of the different countries went on unhinged and uninterrupted. With the closure of the Cold War, several new countries came into being and there was a subtle change in the migration process. The growth of the nationalism and the religious sentiments further aggravated the problem. People began to feel threatened by the influx of the people from the other countries. It gave rise to the internal conflicts and tensions and it was a tough proposition for the Government of the countries. The situation worsened with the rise of the terrorism in the developed countries. This made the Governments of the developed countries get accustomed up to the modern trends. They promptly developed new rules and regulations, which curtailed the influx of the people from the other countries. The migration process from the old days to the modern times faced a huge change. The change was deemed necessary for the security concerns and the overall development of the world. References: 1. Aradau, C. (2004) The Perverse Politics of Four Letter Words: Risk and Pity in the Securitization of Human Trafficking’, Millennium. Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 2, No. 33, pp.251-278 2. Atland, K. (12th May, 2010). Mikhail Gorbachev, the Murmansk Initiative, and the Desecuritization of Interstate. Cooperation and conflict. Vol. 43, No. 289, Pp 289-311 3. Bigo, D. (2002) Security and Immigration: Toward a Critique of the Governmentality of Unease. Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, supplement, Vol. 27. pp. 63-92 4. Burgess, J. (2009). 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