Globalisation and Migration (ThirdWorlds)

This book critically examines the new issues and new politics regarding migration in the era of globalisation from a majority world perspective. It examines the current shifts in the global political economy and the effects it has, for example, in relation to rural displacement. When and how does this lead to national and/or transnational migration? We need to examine the ways in which migration is cut across and impacts on the generation of racism and xenophobia in the west. The issue of remittances by migrants to the ‘developing’ nations needs careful study as does the controversial issue of ‘brain drain’ versus ‘brain gain’ through migration. The growing importance of trafficking for forced labour has now been taken up by various international bodies but is it the new normality or simply an unfortunate side effect of globalisation to be overcome through legislation? Migration is becoming increasingly gendered in its composition and flows but also in the receiving countries where men and women do very different jobs. We can predict the increasing racialization and gendering of migration but how will the state and society respond to these shifts?

This book was published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

Ronaldo Munck works at Dublin City University where he leads internationalisation and social development. He has written widely on labour and on development issues over the years including Globalisation and Labour: The new ‘Great Transformation (2003). His work has been widely translated. He now works on trade union responses to migration.