Thomas Faist

Africa is commonly regarded as a "continent on the move" in scholarly observation and mass media reportage. Movement is seen primarily in the direction of Europe. Yet the public debate is characterized by two misconceptions. The first is that high population growth in Africa would almost automatically trigger higher international migration to the neighbouring European continent. There is even talk of a "rush to Europe". The second frequently encountered misconception is that migration and flight in and from Africa is primarily a result of poverty, violent conflicts and environmental degradation. Both are misconceptions that cannot be reconciled with the facts at hand.

Gemeinhin gilt Afrika in der wissenschaftlichen Betrachtung und in den Reportagen der Massenmedien als „Kontinent in Bewegung" – Bewegung vor allem in Richtung Europa. Dabei ist die öffentliche Diskussion von zwei Fehlannahmen geprägt. Die erste davon besagt, dass ein hohes Bevölkerungswachstum in Afrika quasi automatisch höhere internationale Migration in den angrenzenden europäischen Kontinent auslösen würde. Es ist gar von einem „Ansturm auf Europa" die Rede. Die zweite häufig anzutreffende Fehlannahme geht davon aus, dass Migration und Flucht in und aus Afrika vorwiegend ein Resultat von Armut, gewaltsamen Konflikten und Umweltzerstörung sei. Beides sind Fehlannahmen, die sich mit den vorliegenden Fakten nicht vereinbaren lassen. Diese Fakten sind Gegenstand des vorliegenden Bandes.

The social question is back. Yet today's social question is not primarily between labour and capital, as it was in the nineteenth century and throughout much of the twentieth. The contemporary social question is located at the interstices between the global South and the global North. It finds its expression in movements of people, seeking a better life or fleeing unsustainable social, political, economic, and ecological conditions. It is transnationalized not only because migrants and their significant others entertain ties across the borders of national states, staying in touch with family and friends, receiving or sending financial remittances in transnational social spaces. Also of importance are cross--border recruitment schemes for workers and the cross-border diffusion of norms appealed to in the case of migration--for example, the social right to decent work as a human right. Moreover, migration can become an issue of inclusion or exclusion in fields important to life chances in the emigration, transit, or immigration states--a transnationalization of national states. And, as in the nineteenth century, political conflicts arise, constituting the social question as a public concern. In earlier periods class differences dominated conflicts. While class has always been criss-crossed by manifold heterogeneities, not least of all cultural ones around ethnicity, religion, and language, it is these latter heterogeneities that have sharpened in situations of immigration and emigration over the past decades. Casting a wide net in terms of conceptual and empirical scope, this book tackles both the social structure and the politics of social inequalities. It sets a comprehensive agenda for research which also includes the public role of social scientists in dealing with the transnationalized social question.

Ökade förbindelser över nationsgränserna har gjort det trans­nationella perspektivet till ett centralt verktyg för att förstå vår värld. Särskilt viktigt har det transnationella perspektivet blivit i migrationsforskningen, där det banar väg för fördjupade insikter om inter­nationell migration. Det här är den första boken som ger en lättillgänglig men ändå grundlig översikt över den transnationella migrationen och hur denna påverkar och påverkas av familjer och släktskapsgrupper, entreprenörsnätverk, diasporagrupper och invandrarföreningar. Det centrala begreppet transnationalitet definieras och den transnationella migrationens betydelse för integration och förhållande till assimilation utforskas. Genom att undersöka den transnationella migrationens politiska, ekonomiska, sociala och kulturella dimensioner fångar författarna särdragen hos de nya invandrargrupper som har omformat den etniska och kulturella blandningen i mottagarsamhällena, både i USA och i Västeuropa. Men här undersöks även hur transnationaliteten påverkar ursprungs­länderna och hur migranter bidrar till den politiska och ekonomiska utvecklingen i dessa. Boken vänder sig till studenter inom IMER, sociologi, statsvetenskap, globaliseringsstudier, kulturgeografi och andra samhällsvetenskapliga ämnen.

Increasing interconnections between nation-states across borders have rendered the transnational a key tool for understanding our world. It has made particularly strong contributions to immigration studies and holds great promise for deepening insights into international migration. This is the first book to provide an accessible yet rigorous overview of transnational migration, as experienced by family and kinship groups, networks of entrepreneurs, diasporas and immigrant associations. As well as defining the core concept, it explores the implications of transnational migration for immigrant integration and its relationship to assimilation. By examining its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions, the authors capture the distinctive features of the new immigrant communities that have reshaped the ethno-cultural mix of receiving nations, including the US and Western Europe. Importantly, the book also examines the effects of transnationality on sending communities, viewing migrants as agents of political and economic development. This systematic and critical overview of transnational migration perfectly balances theoretical discussion with relevant examples and cases, making it an ideal book for upper-level students covering immigration and transnational relations on sociology, political science, and globalization courses.

Increasing interconnections between nation-states across borders have rendered the transnational a key tool for understanding our world. It has made particularly strong contributions to immigration studies and holds great promise for deepening insights into international migration. This is the first book to provide an accessible yet rigorous overview of transnational migration, as experienced by family and kinship groups, networks of entrepreneurs, diasporas and immigrant associations. As well as defining the core concept, it explores the implications of transnational migration for immigrant integration and its relationship to assimilation. By examining its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions, the authors capture the distinctive features of the new immigrant communities that have reshaped the ethno-cultural mix of receiving nations, including the US and Western Europe. Importantly, the book also examines the effects of transnationality on sending communities, viewing migrants as agents of political and economic development. This systematic and critical overview of transnational migration perfectly balances theoretical discussion with relevant examples and cases, making it an ideal book for upper-level students covering immigration and transnational relations on sociology, political science, and globalization courses.

This book examines current policy discussions around the migration-development nexus and subjects them to rigorous conceptual and empirical criticism through a transnational lens, placing the current re-discovery of migrants as agents of development nexus into theoretical and historical perspective.

This book examines current policy discussions around the migration-development nexus and subjects them to rigorous conceptual and empirical criticism through a transnational lens, placing the current re-discovery of migrants as agents of development nexus into theoretical and historical perspective.

The most up-to-date analysis of today’s immigration issues As the authors state in Chapter 1, "the movement of people across national borders represents one of the most vivid dramas of social reality in the contemporary world." This comparative text examines contemporary immigration across the globe, focusing on 20 major nations. Noted scholars Peter Kivisto and Thomas Faist introduce students to important topics of inquiry at the heart of the field, including Movement: Explores the theories of migration using a historical perspective of the modern world. Settlement: Provides clarity concerning the controversial matter of immigrant incorporation and refers to the varied ways immigrants come to be a part of a new society. Control: Focuses on the politics of immigration and examines the role of states in shaping how people choose to migrate. Key Features Provides comprehensive coverage of topics not covered in other texts, such as state and immigration control, focusing on policies created to control migratory flow and evolving views of citizenshipOffers a global portrait of contemporary immigration, including a demographic overview of today’s cross-border moversOffers critical assessments of the achievements of the field to dateEncourages students to rethink traditional views about the distinction between citizen and alien in this global ageSuggests paths for future research and new theoretical developments Beyond a Border is a part of the SAGE Pine Forge Sociology for a New Century Series. It offers professors a powerful and timely option to incorporate the topic of immigration in their courses. Contributor to the SAGE Teaching Innovations and Professional Development Award

A significant addition to the growing body of literature on citizenship, this wide-ranging overview focuses on the importance, and changing nature, of citizenship. It introduces the varied discourses and theories that have arisen in recent years, and looks toward future scholarship in the field. Offers an analytical assessment of the various thematic discourses and provides guidance in pulling together those discrete themes into a larger, more comprehensive frameworkIdentifies the four broadly conceived themes that shape the many discourses on contemporary citizenship – inclusion, erosion, withdrawal, and expansionIncludes a thorough introduction to the subject

A significant addition to the growing body of literature on citizenship, this wide-ranging overview focuses on the importance, and changing nature, of citizenship. It introduces the varied discourses and theories that have arisen in recent years, and looks toward future scholarship in the field. Offers an analytical assessment of the various thematic discourses and provides guidance in pulling together those discrete themes into a larger, more comprehensive frameworkIdentifies the four broadly conceived themes that shape the many discourses on contemporary citizenship – inclusion, erosion, withdrawal, and expansionIncludes a thorough introduction to the subject

The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration provides a theoretical account of the causes, nature, and extent of the movement of international South-North migrants between affluent and poorer countries. The puzzle is: why are there so few international migrants out of most places? And why are there so many out of so few places? Only once migration out of a few places has started, do we see relatively more people moving. Mass mobility proceeds only when migrant networks turn local assets into transnational ones. The book also examines the reasons why many immigrants continue to keep ties to their places of origin, and why these ties do not hinder the adaptation of newcomers to immigration countries. These ties span immigration and emigration countries and form transnational social spaces, ranging from border-crossing families to refuges diasporas. Transnational social formations carry far-reaching implications for immigration adaptation, dual citizenship, and transnationalizing civil societites. The author provides an empirical grounding for his arguments by analysing the Turkish-German example.

The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration provides a theoretical account of the causes, nature, and extent of the movement of international South-North migrants between affluent and poorer countries. The puzzle is: why are there so few international migrants out of most places? And why are there so many out of so few places? Only once migration out of a few places has started, do we see relatively more people moving. Mass mobility proceeds only when migrant networks turn local assets into transnational ones. The book also examines the reasons why many immigrants continue to keep ties to their places of origin, and why these ties do not hinder the adaptation of newcomers to immigration countries. These ties span immigration and emigration countries and form transnational social spaces, ranging from border-crossing families to refuges diasporas. Transnational social formations carry far-reaching implications for immigration adaptation, dual citizenship, and transnationalizing civil societites. The author provides an empirical grounding for his arguments by analysing the Turkish-German example.

Ausschliessung schwarzer Arbeitskrafte durch rassistische Diskriminierung bildet einen wichtigen Mechanismus sozialer Schliessung auf Arbeitsmarkten in den USA. Soziale Schliessung stellt dabei ein offenes System dar: Neben der Ausschliessung schwarzer Arbeitskrafte durch Arbeitgeber und weisse Arbeitskrafte finden sich auch Beispiele der Gegenmachtbildung diskriminierter Gruppen durch Solidarismus. In dieser Fallstudie zum Mullarbeiterstreik in Memphis, Tennessee (1968) werden Voraussetzungen, Durchfuhrung und Wirkungen der Gegenmachtbildung diskriminierter Arbeitskraftegruppen im offentlichen Dienst analysiert."