Factors of International Politics and Their Impact on International Migration

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The School of Education

Master of Arts in International Affairs

ENG 506 (Online)  
Advanced Academic Writing (Leadership Studies Focus)

Factors of International Politics and Their Impact on International Migration

Samad Samadli

Fall 2016

There is no denying that migration is one of the crucial events which are caused by diverse factors of international politics such as political variability, socioeconomic problems, and globalization. Political turmoil such as conflicts and inconstancy in the domestic political issues and difficulties in the social and economic life, in special unemployment or social disorders, can be considered as usual reasons which lead to migration. Moreover, globalization appears to be the contemporary concept that facilitates the movement of population in terms of striving for a better life condition. Obviously, there is an inseparable link between international politics and migration and the essay will aim to clarify the mentioned reasons in detail and demonstrates the relationship between international relations and migration. Additionally, the essence and definition of international politics and migration will be explained in the essay.

Giving a definition to migration is a debatable issue. Migration is characterized the permanent or temporary relocation of people from one spatial place to another, this definition was given over one of the various debates among scholars. However, in the best way, migration can be explained as the passing of the residential boundaries by people, in order to leave from home country (Kok, 1999). Undeniably, the movement of population holds a significant role in international politics which mean process of interaction of states with each other for different purposes, migration has an extensive influence on the elements of states such as societies, economic conditions, and national security, meanwhile, international politics influence migration in terms of political turmoil and changes in the world, globalization and policy of states against population movement (Castles, Miller, & Ammendola, 2005).

Pratikshya Bohra-Mishra and Douglas S. Massey (2011) stresses that violence and political turmoil affecting civilians seems to be endemic to the modern world, and any region is likely to encounter such situations.  Ongoing processes in Middle Asia can be the best example which forces the population of that region to move out of their home countries and seek new places to dwell.  According to U.N High Commissioner for Refugees, at the end of 2016, the number of forced migrants has reached approximately 5 million (The UN Refugee Agency, 2016).  Generally, migration because of any kind of violence is a phenomenon in the modern era. More and more individuals living in a conflictive area seek ways to flee out of their residence to ensure their survival. Additionally, when it comes to leaving, not only security parameters but also socioeconomic determinants should be considered. Migrants should take economic and social condition into account, it might be necessary to know what kind of circumstances is likely to be faced in the distance countries (Czaika & Kis-Katos, 2009).

However, there are comparative analyses indicating that violence has a greater influence on migration compared to economic conditions. Logically, survival and living in a peaceful condition are more important than other motives. Hence, civil and ethnic conflicts seem to be a significantly important determinant that explains population exodus. These conflicts occur between states and minority groups or two and more large groups which struggle for power in politically fragile and inconsistency environment. Ethnic conflicts are likely to emerge when ethnic groups get involved in a struggle for territorial autonomy; for example, Kurds in Turkey. Those who suffer from such conflicts are independent civilians and they are forced to migrate to assure their lives and future. From these points, it can be said that civil and ethnic conflicts increase the probability of migration (Schmeidl, 1997).

Most countries experience the violation of human rights; it is directly associated with the level of democratization of governments and efficiency of democratic institutions within the society. Information regarding measurement of democracy is based on “Freedom House Indexes” which specify countries according to political rights and civil liberties. (Schmeidl, 1997) The latter captures the right of civilian participating in government activities such voting. The second includes the political liberty to articulate political opinions. (Castles, Miller, & Ammendola, The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, 2005) The countries which do not possess the mentioned criteria for their population are more likely to be left because individuals prefer to live in more democratic and liberal environment. (Bohra-Mishra & Massey, 2011) Moreover, genocide can be counted as the violation of human rights and is considered the most serious case. Apparently, a threat of the massacre to minority groups makes population be prone to move out (Schmeidl, 1997).

Besides the deep-rooted causes of migration above, socioeconomic factors should be considered.  Economic crisis is likely to affect job opportunities over the world. This condition creates the environment to migrate, especially from developing countries to developed countries for finding a job. Furthermore, it is undeniable that most undeveloped countries experience the high rate of unemployment, and it is accompanied by mass migration from the deprived countries to rich countries in which labour markets offer more opportunities such as jobs with higher wages and better life conditions (Beets & Willekens, 2009). However, in this regard, there is also a counter-productivity of migration because regardless of economic status, most countries experience a fall in the global economy and therefore distance countries try to protect their internal labour market and it leads to either emigration or return to home country (Beets & Willekens, 2009). Moreover, poverty can be determinant in the case of migration. Basically, deprived people are willing to flee out of poor regions and they get mostly involved in illegal migration because they believe that capabilities and higher income is much more attainable in civilized and wealthy countries. (Beets & Willekens, 2009).

A popular tendency which is called globalization has changed the views on the popular movement of population. Before evaluating impacts of globalization on migration, it can be useful to know the essence of globalization. According to Norris (2000), globalization is the process of wiping boundaries out, integrating in terms of cultural, economic, governmental issues. As of globalization has become a worldwide phenomenon, it has also influenced the factors which lead to migration. Apparently, most of the developed countries face problems such as declining fertility and aging, and it has the negative impact on the countries, therefore, they try to grab migrants’ attention in order to provide the countries with the labour. Furthermore, some countries consider migrants as a human capital so they tend to make new policies which can be helpful to simplify the process of migration (Li, 2008). On the other hand, there are many countries that have high rate of population in foreign countries and count them as a foreign exchange