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The Migration Crisis Before and After the Arab Spring: A Transnationalist Perspective

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The Palgrave Handbook of Critical International Political Economy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Handbooks in IPE ((PHIPE))

Abstract

In December 2010, the Arab world was swept away by a wave of demonstrations that became soon known as the “Arab Spring”. Many of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region countries have since witnessed more or less violent riots. Two of the countries which actually underwent true regime changes, often referred to as “Revolutions”, are Tunisia and Egypt. These are also two of the countries which experienced an increase in mass migration, not only as a consequence of the events of the Arab Spring, but also before them. As a result, the focus of this article will be on these two countries.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See IMF world economic outlook on line, website: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/02/weodata/weoselagr.aspx#a406 as accessed on 8 April 2013.

  2. 2.

    See IMF website: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/data/assump.htm As accessed on 8 April 2013.

  3. 3.

    Scholars refer to the “triad” to indicate the three main zones of production of the globe: Asia-Pacific region, America and Europe.

  4. 4.

    For a detailed analysis of the number of migrants necessary to cover the needs of EU member states, see United Nations 2001.

  5. 5.

    For a detailed analysis of some EU member states’ migratory policies, see Geddes 2003.

  6. 6.

    By “securitization”, the experts mean the development of migration into a “security issue”, which has to be managed by security agencies such as, for example, Europol.

  7. 7.

    Others prefer to use absolute numbers which are not provided here for the theoretical reasons so far discussed. See Henry, Clement Moore; Springborg, Robert 2010, Globalisation and the Politics of Development in the Middle East, e-book, accessed 9 May 2013, http://kcl.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=605030.

  8. 8.

    Definitions: Overall Trade Restrictiveness Index (OTRI): The OTRI captures the trade policy distortions that each country imposes on its import bundle. It measures the uniform tariff equivalent of the country tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTB) that would generate the same level of import value for the country in a given year. Tariffs can be based on MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs which apply to all trading partners, or applied tariffs which take into account the bilateral trade preferences.

    Tariff-only Overall Trade Restrictiveness Index (OTRI_T): The OTRI_T is the OTRI that only focuses on tariffs of each country. NTBs are not considered in the calculation of OTRI_T. Similar to OTRI, tariffs can be based on both MFN and applied tariffs.

    Market Access Overall Trade Restrictiveness Index (MAOTRI ): The MAOTRI captures the trade policy distortions imposed by the trading partners of each country on its export bundle. It measures the uniform tariff equivalent of the partner country tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTB) that would generate the same level of export value for the country in a given year. Tariffs can be based on MFN tariffs which apply to all trading partners, or applied tariffs which take into account the bilateral trade preferences. Tariff-only Market Access Overall Trade Restrictiveness Index (MAOTRI_T): The MAOTRI_T is the MAOTRI that only focuses on the tariffs of the trading partners of each country. NTBs are not considered in the calculation of MAOTRI_T. Similar to MAOTRI, tariffs can be based on both MFN and Applied tariffs.

    The ad valorem equivalent of NTB was estimated by Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (EJ, 2009).

  9. 9.

    Source: CARIM south database website, http://www.carim.org/index.php?callContent559&callTable51803 accessed 24 May 2013.

  10. 10.

    See for example B. Hibou, ‘Le Partenariat en réanimation bureaucratique’, and more generally the special number ‘Les faces cachées du Partenariat euroméditerranéen’, Critique internationale, n° 18, April 2003; J.-F. Bayart, Global Subjects. A Political Critique of Globalisation, tr. by Andrew Brown (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007); H. Meddeb, Ambivalence de la politique migratoire en Tunisie (Paris: FASOPO, mimeo, 2008).

  11. 11.

    For a thorough analysis of return migration and investment (see Cassarino 2000).

  12. 12.

    Highly skilled workers are defined as those studying or having studied towards a university degree or possessing equivalent experience in a given academic field (IOM 2005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London, London, UK

    Leila Simona Talani

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  1. Leila Simona Talani
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hamilton College , New York, USA

    Alan Cafruny

  2. King's College London , London, United Kingdom

    Leila Simona Talani

  3. University of Stockholm, Grojecc, Sweden

    Gonzalo Pozo Martin

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Talani, L.S. (2016). The Migration Crisis Before and After the Arab Spring: A Transnationalist Perspective. In: Cafruny, A., Talani, L., Pozo Martin, G. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Critical International Political Economy. Palgrave Handbooks in IPE. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50018-2_12

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