Migration, Gender and Social Justice ― Perspectives on Human Insecurity

This book is the product of a collaborative effort involving partners from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America who were funded by the International Development Research Centre Programme on Women and Migration (2006-2011). The International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam spearheaded a project intended to distill and refine the research findings, connecting them to broader literatures and interdisciplinary themes. The book examines commonalities and differences in the operation of various structures of power (gender, class, race/ethnicity, generation) and their interactions within the institutional domains of intra-national and especially inter-national migration that produce context-specific forms of social injustice. Additional contributions have been included so as to cover issues of legal liminality and how the social construction of not only femininity but also masculinity affects all migrants and all women. The resulting set of 19 detailed, interconnected case studies makes a valuable contribution to reorienting our perceptions and values in the discussions and decision-making concerning migration, and to raising awareness of key issues in migrants’ rights.

All chapters were anonymously peer-reviewed. This book resulted from a series of projects funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

Thanh-Dam Truong is an Associate Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of its Governance, Globalisation and Social Justice research programme. Her research areas include: gender, development, and human security; migration governance and gender justice; and gender knowledge and development policy.

Des Gasper is a Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of its Governance, Globalisation and Social Justice research programme. His research areas include: development ethics; human security; and policy discourse analysis, with a special focus on migration and climate change.

Jeff Handmaker is a Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of its Governance, Globalisation and Social Justice research programme. His research areas include: international law; socio-legal studies; civic-state interactions; and state and individual accountability.

Sylvia I. Bergh is a Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a member of its Civic Innovation Research Initiative. Her areas of expertise include: local governance in the Middle East and North Africa; migration and development; and the research and policy nexus.