Summary
Introduction
Summary
Learning Objective
Learning objectives
  • Understand the scale of international migration in the twenty-first century
  • Discuss the multiple drivers of migration as well as the barriers to such movement
  • Differentiate various forms of international migration
  • Distinguish among the different phases of international migration
  • Understand the relationship between migration and other key transnational issues
  • Understand the importance of international cooperation in managing migration and the steps taken to improve such cooperation
Introduction

International migration has become one of the defining facts of the twenty-first century. Many factors make migration a top tier policy issue. These include the scale of worldwide mobility; the diverse drivers of these movements; the impact of migration on the economies and societies of both countries of origin and destination; the impact of migration on migrants themselves and their families; and the impact of migration on national politics and international relations.

Migration has been around for a long time. However, there are strong reasons to believe that it is now more economically and socially important, and is more politically sensitive, than it was in the past. Two key changes occurred around the mid-1980s. One was the arrival of affordable mass air transport, that greatly facilitated international travel. The other was new kinds of information technology, that led to real-time communication networks. These, in turn, made people far more aware of life and work opportunities abroad and, following that, much more interested in moving.

Over the following decades, there was more and more movement across all regions of the world. At the same time, patterns of movement became more complex as more and more people moved, whether permanently or temporarily. Some moved in search of employment and better life prospects; some in the wake of natural or human-made disaster; others in response to environmental and climate change or to move away from harsh living conditions. Often, the motivation to move was not one but a combination of several of these reasons.

The importance of understanding the global context of international migration

Glossary
Migration management

The management and implementation of the whole set of activities primarily by States within national systems or through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, concerning all aspects of migration and the mainstreaming of migration considerations into public policies. The term refers to planned approaches to the implementation and operationalization of policy, legislative and administrative frameworks, developed by the institutions in charge of migration.

Because migration is so complex, managing it requires more than just an understanding of the scale and complexity of migration itself. It also requires an understanding of the many factors that drive migration; of the diverse forms that migration takes; of its impact on those who migrate, those remaining in countries of origin and those already in destinations; and of the nexus between migration and other global issues (McAuliffe and Ruhs, 2017). Managing migration also requires policymaking at multiple levels. National governments have primary responsibility for migration management, but local authorities, international organizations, regional institutions, the private sector, civil society and migrants themselves all play important roles, too. As well, migration is affected by and affects other transnational issues such as development, security, environmental change, trade and public health. Because of this, migration policymakers and practitioners at all of these levels must understand and interact with their peers in these other fields.

This EMM2.0 Handbook uses the definitions of “migration” and “migrant” as set out in the IOM Glossary on Migration (IOM, 2019):

Glossary
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

The movement of persons away from their place of usual residence and across an international border to a country of which they are not nationals.

Glossary
INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT

Any person who is outside a State of which he or she is a citizen or national, or, in the case of a stateless person, his or her State of birth or habitual residence. The term includes migrants who intend to move permanently or temporarily, and those who move in a regular or documented manner as well as migrants in irregular situations.

According to these definitions, tourists, business travellers and others who plan to return soon to their home country are not migrants.

This chapter, like the EMM2.0 Handbook as a whole, focuses primarily on movement across international borders. It does, though, recognize the strong connections that exist between international and internal movements. For instance, many international migrants begin their journey by moving within their own State. Also, those returning to their home countries may in turn not be willing or able to return to their home communities, and thereby become internal migrants.

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