Abstract
The book conclusion merges the different chapters and moves the political demography debate from a local-departmental-national level to an international one. In other words, the conclusion, which problematizes immigration policy efficiency, political demography, urbanization and urban governance, shifts from domestic politics and policy regarding local, national and transnational population-migration spatially distributed—to a broader perspective of international relations among neighboring states involving supranational-regional organizations in dealing with transnational people movements in the Americas in general as political geographies, politics of scale and geopolitics. Consequently, the book puts in perspective the French Guyanese’s patterns of migration-urbanization into broader theoretical accounts.
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Notes
- 1.
As noted in earlier chapters, French Guyana is in the second stage of the demographic transition with a high birth rates (and a low death rate). The general youth of the population and the urban relocation strategies of young couples and families from different origins, becoming new French citizens in Guyana, clearly impact the urban explosion in the Cayenne agglomeration.
- 2.
According to Domenach and Guengant (1981: 1), French Guyana’s economy and its market of employment are characterized by first a traditional or pre-capitalist sector (agriculture of subsistence, arts and crafts, and other domestic products)—second, a modern or capitalist sector (exportation of agricultural and mining goods, housing and infrastructure, and lastly, administrative and public office jobs)—third, an intermediary sector called informal and non-structured activities, taking place in urban areas, arts, crafts and trade). Note that the authors above mentioned the incapacity and the impossibility of the modern sector to absorb the surplus in the available workforce, largely, because of the rapid demographic growth, allowed the intermediary sector to come to existence. Also, notice that some important economic, spatial, historic and technological factors need to be taken into account to fully understand the patterns of urbanization-migration in French Guyana. On this matter, Domenach and Guengant (1981: 2) wrote that “It can be observed, first, a colonial urban zone in Cayenne – second, a created newly and modern high-tech space station in the area of Kourou built since 1965 – third, the traditional post-colonial zone of Saint-Laurent du Maroni – fourth, the constitution of heartland communes where traditional and pre-colonial activities still take place with the concentration of Amerindians and some African groups.” Furthermore, it is important to underline that in analyzing unemployment and under-employment, Domenach and Guengant (1981) highlight the sharp difference between the job markets and economic sectors in industrialized societies which are relatively well integrated and homogenous on the one hand-job markets, economic sectors and activities in less-developed, traditional or pre-capitalist societies that run in parallel, and are dualist and pluralist. If in industrialized societies the offer and the demand of employments are expressed in terms of unemployment issues, however, in less-developed and traditional economies only a part of the demand for employments is reflected on the market workforce. The contextualization (1970–1980) and the characterization of major economic sectors and their activities in French Guyana largely help to better portray the economic and social factors impacting human settlements problematized as urbanization-migration issues.
- 3.
They are: (1) the pre-modern traditional society (minimal residential migration and only limited human mobility)—(2) the early transitional society (migration begins with rural to urban and overseas movements)—(3) the late transitional society (rural to urban mobility decline and important reduction in overseas migrations)—(4) the advanced society (residential mobility continues, rural to urban movements lessen, but continues rural to urban movements)—(5) a future super-advance society (most migration is between urban centers).
- 4.
…at some point more fortunate than its neighbors, largely because of the core France regularly renewed fresh cash injections in the local economy….
- 5.
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1.
The majority of migrants travel only a short distance (distance friction).
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2.
Migration proceeds step-by-step (first to port city, then to rural areas).
-
3.
Migrants moving from distance generally head for one of the great centers of commerce or industry (large centers are better known than small areas).
-
4.
Each current of migration produces a compensating counter-current.
-
5.
The natives of towns are less migratory than those of rural areas (the frequency of rural to urban migration).
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6.
Females are more migratory (in order to marry) than males within their own country of birth, but males more frequently venture beyond (international migrants are usually young males).
-
7.
Most migrants are adults. Families rarely migrate out of their country of birth.
-
8.
Large towns grow more by migration than by natural increase.
-
9.
Migrations increase in volume as industries and commerce develop and transport improves (urban centers become more attractive and reduce distance friction).
-
10.
Migration is from agricultural areas to centers of industry and commerce. This is still the most common direction in the early twenty-first century, evidenced by the ongoing rural depopulation in the Canadian prairies.
-
11.
The major causes of migration are economic.
-
1.
- 6.
Through the neoclassical migration theory (macro and micro levels), labor migration as a corollary element to economic development causing territorial mobility is conceptualized by Massey (1993) as migrant network.
In this view, Krissman (2005: 29) wrote that “… most migrant networks can be traced back to the fortuitous employment of some key individual. All that is necessary for a migrant network to develop is for one person to be in the right place at the right time and obtain a position that allows him to distribute jobs and favors to others from his community” (Massey et al. 1987: 169, emphasis added). “[…] In a brief ethnographic synopsis, Massey and colleagues (1987: 164–169) noted that migrants become network pioneers when employers use them as labor recruiters” (Krissman 2005: 29).
- 7.
“I argue that restrictions on its composition and functions also render the migrant network unable to explain why such migratory flows continue or expand even further … the propositions on which it rests, the methods it employs, and the conclusions that it imparts must be reconsidered” (Krissman 2005: 4).
“The ‘Migrant network’ concept cannot explain large-scale international migratory flows … goes beyond a critique of its ahistorical and post factum nature … Most immigrant researchers have excluded a variety of actors involved in the origination and perpetuation of migratory flows from data collection, analytical assessment, theoretical construction, and/or public policy promotion. These actors have been ignored because the ubiquitous migrant network concept focuses on symmetrical relationships among the natives of the same labor-sending hometowns. However, the assumption that employers, labor smugglers, and their myriad assistants are not active participants in international migration networks is no longer shared by federal officials, the media, or even all immigration researchers… (Krissman 2005: 5).
“The migrant network concept did not spring from network analysis, but from social adaptation studies that examined the effects of massive population shifts within third world nation after World War II (Gurak and Caces 1992: 153). Early studies (e.g., Lewis 1959) argued that rural migrants became anomic loners in urban metropolises, stuck in ‘cultures of poverty. Later research (e.g., Arizpe 1978; Kemper 1975; Orellana 1973) countered this view, noting that migrants manage in the cities by adapting the support systems that aided them in their rural hometowns’ … the network concept used to analyse the adaptation of rural migrants to Third World cities was borrowed to analyze the much more complex treks of international migrants” (Krissman 2005: 8).
“I argue: 1) International migrant networks seldom originate in and are never comprised exclusively from individuals from the same hometowns; 2) migration is not self-perpetuating, but continues to be affected by non-hometowns actors in and/or native to the labor-receiving nation; and 3) labor recruitment continues to be a major stimulus to international migration. If I am right, moral and legal responsibility for continued undocumented migration should shift from the Third World ‘Them’ to the First World ‘us’ with corresponding changes in public policy to focus upon those who initiate and perpetuate international migration network” (Krissman 2005: 34).
- 8.
Also, in analyzing the Piore’s dual labor market theory explaining immigration Gurieva and Dzhioev (2015: 104) wrote that “Piore (1979) connected demand for immigrants’ work with four fundamental characteristics of modern industrial society, structural inflation, motivational problems, economic dualism and labor demography.”
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Zéphirin, R. (2020). Conclusion: Blending the Specific French Guyanese’s Urbanization-Migration Patterns with the Wider Theoretical Literature on the Matter. In: Political Demography and Urban Governance in French Guyana. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3832-2_6
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