POLSCI 51A Final

The Emerging Migration State

The politics of many states is determined by migration, and how a state leverages migration determines its power; Migration is at the heart of many international issues.

Migration and citizenship are interlinked. There are 2 views on migration and citizenship in comparative politics:

Focusing on state responses to migration and its impact on citizenship politics (top-down view), and decentralizing the state and focusing on why/how migration flows occur (bottom-up view).

According to Hollifield, economic independence…

Requires migration, and the movement of goods and people is necessary for economic growth; as markets expand and states become wealthier, so does the required labor force, which can be highly skilled (techies, doctors, engineers, teachers) or low-skilled (agricultural workers, meat packing, textile workers, petrochemical workers).

Market Forces

Demand pulling and supply pushing.

The rise in immigration since 1945 is a function of:

Market forces and kinship networks (reduce the costs of moving from one society to another).

Liberal Paradox

The conflict of states to regulate migration in economic and security forces; a tension between the role of markets and the role of rights/political values. Since the end of WWII, international economic forces (trade, investment, and migration) have been pushing states towards greater openness, while the international/domestic political forces push states towards greater closure.

In the 1990s, companies in Germany did not have access to foreign computer and software engineers; Germany introduced green cards to recruit migrant workers to apply their skills to computer/software engineering programs. Such a program pushes Germany to adopt liberal-leaning policies. However…

The government declared that foreign high-tech workers would not be allowed to bring their families with them, because the state wanted workers, not families, who would settle down and bring their cultural identities with them (liberal paradox).

Economic Liberalism

Laissez-faire economics and free trade are the best ways for a state to enhance its wealth, power, and security. This principle grew with globalization and the rise of information/communications technology that required the migration of goods and people.

Issue with economic liberalism?

Power and authority ultimately revolve around a nation-state, which must have a territory, population, and capacity for self-governance to be internationally recognized as a sovereign.

Migration changes the…

Ethnic composition of societies (demographic maintenance regime), resulting in states failing to identify their population. Nationals may feel threatened, and a social/political backlash may arise in response to immigration.

Demographic Maintenance Regime

Migration and citizenship policies can be used to maintain the demographic balance within states. This link between migration and citizenship is also why migration can be seen as a threat to national security, as immigration is believed to lead to conflicts within and between states (ex. US and Mexico, Zimbabwe and South Africa, Colombia and Venezuela, India and Bangladesh).

Causes of International Migration

Word spreads about the possibilities for employment; kinship networks can grow into transnational communities.

At this time, unauthorized immigration was not a major policy issue. As world wars came…

Nationalism would strengthen while millions of displaced persons would escape from violence; states guarded their sovereignty, people gained a stronger sense of citizenship/national identity, and migration took on more of a political character.

Under international law…

States are not required to admit aliens; if they do, they are obliged to treat them in a humane and civilized manner.

Nonrefoulement

Individuals are entitled to a legal hearing, but no states are obliged to admit asylum seekers unless a state has signed the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (signed after WWII and the Holocaust).

Unlike trade and financial flows…

The movement of individuals across borders requires a different set of regulatory regimes based on civil and human rights.

As international migration accelerates, states are forced to respond by developing new policies to cope with newcomers and their families through…

Citizenship laws and migration regulation.

The biggest regulatory challenge confronts states like Nigeria, South Africa, or the United States, which…

Share land borders with overpopulated and underdeveloped states.

Less developed countries (LDCs) do not have effective laws or policies for governing migration. However, wealthier Third World states…

Have negotiated with the sending countries and with no provisions for settlement or family reunification. These types of policies leave migrants with few, if any, rights, making them vulnerable to human rights abuses and arbitrary expulsion.

Economic Demography

Forces of supply-push and demand-pull that continue to govern migration in the developing world (ex. The struggle to regulate post-colonial migrations began earlier in Britain than in the former imperial powers on the continent).

Konjunkturpuffer

Policies that discourage and prevent settlement and family reunification due to the sentiment of a guest worker acting as an "economic shock absorber" during major oil crises. In other words, they were brought into the labor market during periods of high growth and low unemployment, and they should be sent home during periods of recession (liberal paradox).

When it became clear that migrants can and do acquire rights…

Governments stopped further recruitment of foreign workers, tried to induce those residing in the country to return, and prevented family reunification.

Schengen Agreement of 1985

EU governments committed themselves to eliminating border checks in exchange for common visa requirements to control the movement of third-country nationals (TCNs).

International migration is expected to increase due to…

The growing demand for skilled workers and the demographic decline in the industrial democracies; these create economic opportunities for migrants.

Many states, like Canada and Germany, are…

More likely to sponsor migration because the numbers are manageable, and there is likely to be less political resistance to the importation of highly skilled individuals.

Citizenship

Determines who gets what kinds of rights. Access is normative.

According to the theories of immigration and citizenship…

We (wrongfully) should expect that states will monitor, control, and restrict illegal immigrants' access to citizenship on behalf of their citizens.

Malaysia

Is privileging non-citizens by allowing them to fraudulently participate in state-level elections; the state lacks the capacity to combat document fraud, encouraging the illegal entry of migrants, terrorists, and criminals.

Doccumentary Citizenship

Illegal immigrants in developing states are voting in large numbers because they can illegally procure documents that allow them to enjoy all the privileges of citizenship.

In Malaysia, not only does documentary citizenship enfranchise illegal immigrants, but also…

The political participation of these individuals alters political outcomes that enable illegal immigrants to acquire proof of citizenship and the ability to vote.

Illegal immigration to Malaysia from the Philippines and Indonesia highlights…

The paradox of states actively admitting illegal immigrants; there has been an increase in the rights and privileges granted by many states to immigrants, but at no time have these states opened national and state-level voting or high public offices to non-citizens.

Illegal immigration to sabah could be due to

Geographical proximity; most immigrants already know of friends and relatives in the region, enabling them to access ''safe houses,'' from where they are directed to possible employers.

Over the years, many undocumented immigrants in Sabah have…

Made the transition from an illegal status to legal citizenship; others who are deported have been known to return within a few months.

Networks of Complicity

Groups that help the settlement of illegal immigrants. When there is illegal immigration in weak institutional settings, there are networks facilitating and encouraging that illegal flow (connections, bribery, marriage to locals, the acquisition of refugee states, etc).

Blurred Membership

Weakly institutionalized nature of citizenship in developing countries; attempts to distinguish between citizens and foreigners are difficult (natives lack citizenship documents, and illegal immigrants have documents that are illegally acquired).

Documentary citizenship is an…

Informal device to many of the benefits associated with legal citizenship, allowing many illegal immigrants access to political suffrage, which is closely linked to legal citizenship since it opens the door to many protected domains of state activity (the legislature and other public offices involved in defense, foreign, and security policy-making).

Birth Certificate

An essential document for obtaining a Malaysian IC, which is the main citizenship document. The IC is the basic document needed for entering the school system, exercising the franchise, and becoming eligible for licenses.

For the government, why allow illegal migrants to vote?

The possibility of profit and party politics (to strengthen the party base).

For individual migrants, why vote?

Material benefits (distribution of water tanks, rice, money, and fishing nets of various sizes), employment by working for a political party, and personal connections.

Brexit

British citizens hurt by globalization believed that the UK should leave the EU (France and Germany also shared a similar Euro skepticism, but instead focused on the role of immigration/how it threatens the European national identity).

Developed Democracies

Defines a diverse set of countries institutionalized through democratic principles, high levels of economic development, and prosperity.

We define developed democracies based on…

The degree and institutionalization of participation, competition, and liberty.

For economic development and prosperity, we look at the presence of private property, open markets, and the level of gross domestic product (GDP) or purchasing power parity (PPP).

Developed democracies derive the majority of their GDP from

Services (in retail, IT, or education) instead of industrial or agricultural businesses.

Common characteristics of advanced democracies:

Capitalist economies, freedom and equality, social democracies, and low-income inequality.

Liberal political-economic systems

Focuses more on individual freedoms rather than collective equality.

Social democratic-economic systems

Regulate the market and public goods.

Mercantilist regimes

Reject freedom and equality to focus completely on development.

While institutionalizing liberal democracies, all developed democracies…

Define participation, competition, and liberty differently.

Personal liberties and economic freedoms in developed democracies

Are distinct in the regulation, allowance, or prohibition of activities like abortion, prostitution, and hate speech. Similarly, different degrees of privacy are protected from state and corporate intrusion.

Political Participation

Throughout developed democracies, standards of voter eligibility differ. Referenda and initiatives are used varyingly; in some (but not all) states, all voters are registered automatically. Voting is compulsory and voluntary as well.

Competition

Different states have different methods of funding for political parties and campaigns. The separation of powers similarly differs greatly and is based primarily on the relative strength of different branches of government.

There have been recent trends towards

Greater integration between countries and devolution within countries.

Integration

States surrender a bit of their sovereign power to gain political, economic, or social benefits; states decide to rule together by making their own policies.

Devolution

States send power down to lower levels of government to encourage participation.

European Union

After WWII, several European leaders believed that repeated international conflicts were a result of a disconnect between countries (fostered through insecurity, nationalism, and inequality). They agreed that a common political agenda would save them.

As bodies of the EU gained power over time

People no longer saw it as an intergovernmental system (like the UN, where the states were responsible but not bound) and more as a supranational system (sovereignty is shared between member states).

Executive of the EU

The European Commission (27 cabinet members, President of the commission, chosen by the council, approved by the President, and controls European agencies).

Legislature of the EU

The council and parliament (Council: member heads of state or government. Parliament: directly elected by voters and proposes/passes budgets).

Judicial of the EU

The European Court of Justice (chosen by member states and can review decisions by national courts).

Examples of Devolution

Spain gave regional parliaments, budgets, taxes, and autonomy for local minorities; The UK had parliaments, and local government taxes are spread independently.

Devolution can occur through…

The transfer of policy-making responsibilities/funds to local communities, or by creating new institutions that encourage a greater level of public participation. Such a transfer of funds and powers rewards them with more control over how resources are distributed.

Modern States

Secular, rational, materialistic, technological, bureaucratic, and concerned with individual freedom rather than collective equality.

Modern Values

Rationalism, industry-centered, individual consumption (material values), technological changes (telecommunication, social media), scientific innovation, and progress.

Postmodern States

The institutions of modern states are subject to change under the influence of domestic and international forces

Postmodern Values

Concerned with social needs; focuses on quality of life, justice, environmental protection, self-expression, quality of life over consumerism, soverity, and personal equality.

Identity Politics

People of a particular religion, race, and social background form political alliances based on that identity, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics to specifically defined ones (ex. In Europe, concern about immigrants and refugees changing their European character; an emphasis on naturalization and learning to become European through language and culture).

In economics, there was a large shift from the industry to the

Service sector; manufactured goods are imported from newly industrializing countries, and services account for more economic growth and exports (ex. Information tech services, banking, and financial services).

Consequences of a New Market

Job losses in the manufacturing sector and manufacturing skills failing to transfer to growing sectors can lead to jobless growth raises demands for trade barriers; greater inequality can also lead to demands for greater welfare services, such as gender equality.

Welfare states are becoming more expensive due to

Rising healthcare costs, aging populations, and the popularity of political ideologies that do not favor welfare expansion.

Solutions to the shrinking welfare state?

Increase taxes, lower benefits (both unpopular), or technical fixes (requires political concessions, which is hard to do).

Austerity

Spending much less money and/or raising taxes to cut the budget deficit and control the national debt (ex. The UK’s Conservative Party advocated higher taxes and government cuts to services, which had immediate consequences of public protests and declining economic growth).

Public Investment/Stimulus Policies

South Korea and Australia responded to the financial crisis by temporarily cutting taxes and new infrastructure spending; this had short-term consequences of avoiding recessions, and employment grew. Long-term consequences are unknown; supporters predict a renewed investment, while critics predict future decline due to public debt.

Why didn't Ukraine successfully integrate into Europe?

Unclear distinctions between Russians and Ukrainians in Western Ukraine (as opposed to Eastern Ukraine, where there was a rough split between Russians and Ukrainians), a strong Ukrainian nationalism, and ethnic and national conflicts (some Ukrainians sought a separate, European identity, while others wished to return to the Soviet Union).

Communism

A set of ideas that views political, social, and economic institutions differently than most political ideologies; it seeks to create human equality by eliminating private property and market forces.

Communism originates from…

Karl Marx's observations that humans impart value to the objects that they create by investing time and labor, leading to economic injustices; once human beings learn how to produce things of value, others could gain those things at little cost by using coercion to acquire them.

Communism acts as..

An explanation for how society operates (including theories about why economies grow, why people start revolutions, etc.) and an ideology about how society should function (workers should organize and overthrow market-based systems).

Base

The system of economic production, including the level of tech or means of production and the class relations of production that exist as a result.

Superstructure

All human institutions (politics, the state, national identity, culture, religion, gender, etc.); Marx believed that these institutions justified the existing order of capitalism.

According to Marx, human history or human relations were

Products of the base and superstructure.

Dialectic Materialism

Technology advances and leads to a new revolution, which leads to a new order, prompting a new technological change, and a new cycle repeats. History has a natural cycle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

Under communism, many found that human history…

Developed in phases, each driven by an exploitation fostered by the existing level of technology; feudalism, for example, was a dominant political/economic order due to the technology that tied most individuals to the ground to be exploited by aristocrats.

Bourgeoisie

The capitalist, property-owning middle class.

Proletariat

The working class.

According to Communism, changes in technology would

Increase tensions between rulers and the ruled; for example, technology empowered the bourgeoisie to gain political power and reshape the order. Eventually, these tensions would lead to a revolution overthrowing those in power and bringing about a new group to power.

Example of dialectical materialism

The capitalist democracy displaced feudalism, and it will eventually be overthrown as well; existing capitalist institutions would wither away; all people will be united in equality rather than be blinded by nationalism if society adopts communism.

Revolutions

Do not happen naturally. Revolutionary classes must gain consciousness; the people who stand up to gain from revolution must first realize that they stand to gain. Elite members must also take steps to trigger a revolution.

Vanguard of the Proletariat

A small movement on behalf of the people, who may lack the consciousness necessary to rise; though Marx argued that revolution would occur only when capitalism was at its peak in a state, former Russian leader Lenin believed that revolution could be possible through such a principle.

Nomenklatura

A form of cooptation that selectively gives members of society influential jobs in the state, society, or economy (ex. Heads of newspapers, universities, military, etc). Power was within the party rather than the state/government.

Politburo

Political bureau.

Central Committee

Cabinet and legislative.

In communist political economies, the state

Absorbs markets and property; since the party-state held the means of production, individual profits, unemployment, firm competition, and bankruptcy were all eliminated.

Central Planning

Communist governments allocate resources and set the prices of goods/deciding what should be sold; They believed that market forces of supply and demand could not equally distribute wealth.

Since most economic enterprises in communist countries are state-owned…

Small issues (like factory failures) can have massive impacts on the entire manufacturing process. Additionally, since markets do not fear losing their jobs or factories going out of business, workers do not need to have incentives to work harder.

Agricultural Collectivization

Ended private ownership of farms in the Soviet Union; farmers instead work on community farms. As an unintended result, there was lower food production.

Aspects of Communist Political Economies

Markets and property are wholly absorbed by the state, and central planning replaces the market mechanism. Individual profit, unemployment, firm competition, and bankruptcy are eliminated; most of the nation's means of production are nationalized, and the economy functions in essence as a single firm whose employees are the public. The state provides extensive public goods and services like education, health care, and retirement; however, while reduced, inequality and poverty are not eliminated.

Religion to Communism

The opiate of the masses, a drug that legitimizes inequality and power perpetrated by the superstructure. As a result, most communist countries suppress it, but it is not fully eliminated.

Gender Roles to Communism

Believed to open the door for capitalism; men exploit women and sexuality, so there should be complete equality. Opportunities for women were increased, but women were still expected to fulfill traditional duties in the home.

Sexuality to Communism

Sexuality was viewed as repressive; marriage should be replaced by a system of free love. However, many communist countries remained sexually conservative.

Nationalism/Ethnicity to Communism

Defined the main features that encourage the subculture; communists tend to reject any expression of ethnic or national identity. People still clung to old national/ethnic identities, though.

Glasnost

Openness in the Soviet Union encouraged public debate to foster change.