Transnational Migration and the Modern Democratic State: Familiar Problems in New Form or a New Problem?

Abstract

Migration to Western Europe in the past 20 to 25 years differs substantially in form and consequences from earlier large-scale population movements across national boundaries. The importation of temporary foreign workers on a modest scale—to meet labor shortages in arduous, low-status occupations—rapidly yielded massive political, economic, cultural, and international problems for the countries of in-migration. The temporary sojourn of mostly single males hired for specific jobs has been transmuted into the semi-settled presence of more than 15 million persons, most of whom are culturally very distinct from the host populations and are now dependents of the original migrants. Their protracted presence is explained in part by the economic and political attractiveness of the liberal welfare states, in part by the more limited opportunities in the countries of origin, and in part by the latter countries' policies. The host societies are strained by the new and substantial imported cultural diversity and the emergence of a socioeconomic and political underclass. The political ethos of the host countries and formal agreements with the sending countries preclude involuntary repatriation, and the myth of return associated with the semi-settled condition of the migrants militates against their assimilation. No ready solutions are apparent.

Adriatic Brethren or Black Sheep?

“…Heisler and Heisler (1986) and Heister (1986) focus on several ideological and pragmatic problems unassimilated immigrant populations have posed for the democratic state. With regard to Europe, see also several of the contributions to Democrazia e Diritto (6: 1989).…”

Dutch Migration History. Looking Back and Moving Forward

“…91 In the 1980s, it was adopted by migration researchers. 92 In the 1990s, debate about transnationalism among migration researchers exploded. 93 In 2012, Bouras added to the literature by showing how governments in the countries of origin and settlement influenced, shaped and enforced ties at the personal and the institutional level.…”

Introduction—Changing Citizenship Theory and Practice: Comparative Perspectives in a Democratic Framework

“…It was probably not a coincidence that a value shift occurred toward multiculturalism near the end of that period of economic optimism, ushering in what I term here the post-modern stage of citizenship. 8 The recognition of group-based claims to end discrimination and for genuine, not just nominal, equality; the continuing shift toward rights rhetoric and away from obligations in citizenship practice and theory (Janowitz 1980); the rethinking of long-held notions about assimilation (B. S. Heisler 1992); and the increasing significance of transnational migration as distinguished from traditional immigration (Heisler 1998(Heisler /19992001;Heisler and Heisler 1986) contributed to a growing emphasis on questions of authenticity, cultural integrity, and collective or group rights-and, most important, in my view, the legitimacy of multiple identities without a superordinate identity anchored in the state. These notions have become the focus of debates in industrialized democracies about "who we are" and who we ought to strive to be.…”