Uncertain Identity: International Migration since 1945 (Reaktion Books - Contemporary Worlds)

Globalization is the defining phenomenon of the twenty-first century and migration is the cornerstone of its economic and social force. Uncertain Identity examines international movements of peoples over the past sixty years to show what migration patterns have meant to the economic and social systems of countries around the world. W. M. Spellman chronicles how after 1945, migration patterns expanded in numbers of people and origin countries, due to overpopulation, poverty, violent conflicts, and the lowered costs of air travel. Uncertain Identity sets these patterns in the context of issues such as the impact of voluntary and forced relocation on the migrants and destination countries, the significance of south-to-north migrations, and recent enactments of restrictive immigration measures in developed nations. Spellman also considers temporary and refugee migrations and the ways in which refugees maintain cultural traditions despite their new environments. An incisive study with global breadth, Uncertain Identity offers invaluable analysis for specialists in political science, sociology, and economics. Though goods, services, money and ideas flow ever more freely across international borders, the movement of peoples has never been so tightly regulated. This book surveys patterns of international migration since the end of World War II, emphasizing the recent abundance of new migration and the impact of voluntary and forced relocation on both migrants and host countries. It examines how, after 1945, emigration areas proliferated due to overpopulation, poverty, internal and international conflict and the rise of comparatively inexpensive air travel. The significance of South to North, poor nation to rich nation, human relocation and the emergence of more restrictive immigration regimes in developed countries are all considered in this comprehensive account. To conclude, it addresses the growing phenomena of temporary and refugee migration and the efforts by newcomers to retain their traditional cultural forms in new settings Back cover: "Though goods, services, money and ideas flow ever more freely across international borders, the movement of peoples has never been so tightly regulated. This book surveys patterns of international migration and the impact of voluntary and forced relocation on both migrants an host countries."