Crisis and Migration ─ Critical perspectives

Migration is often seen as part of a crisis: a consequence of crisis or a cause of crisis. This book provides fresh perspectives on this routine association. It examines commonly reported examples of ‘crisis-induced migration’ and ‘migration-induced crises’, critically exploring how contemporary migration analysis and policy-making deploy the concept of crisis. In doing so, the book also explores the roles that various forms and levels of governance play in producing, responding to, and sometimes re-producing these crises of migration.

Three over-arching questions are explored: What is the nature of the association between migration and crisis? Who responds and how? What do commonly reported ‘crises of migration’ reveal about wider politics and more general migration processes? These questions are posed in relation to a diverse range of crises, themes and contexts at the heart of global policy debates: the global economic crisis, the political transformations of the Arab Spring, famine and conflict in the Horn of Africa, criminal violence in Latin America, xenophobic riots in South Africa, and mass exoduses and border closures. It also explores how crisis frames our understanding of the impact of migration on family life, and immigration policy development in ‘fortress’ Europe. Throughout, the book pays close attention to the role of policy-makers in anticipating and responding to crises, asking what can they learn from these situations and analyses.