International Migration

Abstract

A decade and a half ago, some of the most renowned names in international migration research proclaimed that, ‘Like many birds, but unlike most other animals, humans are a migratory species. Indeed, migration is as old as humanity itself’ (Massey et al., 1998: 1). They continued, ‘Human migration is rooted in specific historical conditions that define a particular social and economic context’ (1998: 3). This provides some signposts as to why the social sciences have so much to offer the study of international migration, past and present. International migration of people is fundamental not only to humanity, as they suggest, but also to the creation of nations and societies stretching back centuries. Yet its importance lies not only in its historical importance, but also in its increasing influence over the ways the global economy and societies function, as the scale of movement of people around the world continues to grow exponentially, despite more recent sluggish growth. Coupled with the increasing complexity of these movements and recognition that migration affects many more than those who actually move, research on the nature of these international flows from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives has burgeoned. The social sciences are ideally placed to understand the complexities of these movements in ways that other sets of disciplines are not.