The Ramparts of Nations : Institutions and Immigration Policies in France and the United States

Togman provides a comparative analysis of French and U.S. immigration policies from 1945 to 2000. He explores why nations implement the immigration policies they do, why some governments allow or even encourage large-scale immigration while others restrict it, why some states shift from liberal to restrictive entry policies and vice versa. Focusing on critical historical junctures, Togman illustrates how different institutional structures in France and the United States led these countries to implement divergent entry policies. Political institutions are shown to act as an intervening variable, helping determine what, if any, influence other factors such as economic conditions and cultural traditions have over a nation's immigration laws. Scholars and students of French politics, U.S. politics, comparative politics, and immigration policies will find this work helpful. For academic readers, Togman (political science, Seton Hall U.) explores why countries implement the immigrant entry policies they do, why some allow or encourage large-scale immigration while other restrict it, and why some shift from liberal to restrictive immigration policies and vice versa. He primarily seeks to explain cross-national and longitudinal variation in immigrant entry policies, but also considers policies for incorporating or assimilating immigrants and their offspring into host societies. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR In the second half of the twentieth century transnational transportation and communication technologies improved, and international economic interactions increased, causing global migratory pressures to rise. Jeffrey M. Togman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [145]-151) And Index.