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2023/2024

International Migrations 

Code: 104482 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2503778 International Relations OT 4 2

Contact

Name:
Gemma Pinyol Jimenez
Email:
gemma.pinyol@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.

Teachers

Eva Kristine Ostergaard-Nielsen

Prerequisites

A good level of English enough to follow theoretical classes, read the required texts, participate in seminars and submit work.

Objectives and Contextualisation

This course is designed to:

· Introduce students to some of the main contemporary international and internal migration scenarios in comparative perspective;

· Differentiate between the various categories, legal frameworks and perspectives involved in differentiating between forced and voluntary migration (a solid understanding of basic immigration patterns and legal structures);

· Learn about migration theories and its links with political sciences and IR;

· Understand the policy-making of migration and asylum policies (multilevel and multistakeholder approach);

· Learn about key debates in different geographic contexts (core concepts, relationships, and issues are involved in the immigration policy making);

· Explore key themes and debates in migration and refugee studies;

· Analysis the links between development and international migration;

· Foster critical thinking and academic research skills: critically evaluation of the pros and cons of liberal and restrictive approaches towards migration (criticize and evaluate political outcomes related to immigration policy).


Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  • Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  • Learn and analyse the impacts of the globalisation process on domestic political systems and on the behaviour of the political actors and the public.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
  2. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  3. Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  4. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  5. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  6. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  7. Critically evaluate the impacts of globalisation in different areas: security, environment, human rights, migrations and peace.
  8. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  9. Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  10. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  11. Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within the area of your own knowledge.
  12. Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  13. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  14. Propose new ways to measure success or failure when implementing ground-breaking proposals or ideas.
  15. Propose projects and actions in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  16. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  17. Propose viable projects and actions that promote social, economic and environmental benefits.
  18. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  19. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  20. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  21. Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  22. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  23. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  24. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  25. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of one's own ideas for improvement and proposals made by others.

Content

Part 1. Introduction and key concepts and definitions

  • Migration, refuge, asylum: concepts and definitions
  • Migration theories. IR and international migrations
  • Flows and general data (regional approach)

 Part 2. The Making of Immigration Policies

  • Theories and models
  • Policy-processes and policy gap
  • Stakeholders in place
  • Multilevel governance: from local to international playgrounds International framework
  • The EU migration and asylum policies

 Part 3. Forced migration: IDPs, refugees and asylum seekers

  • International law and instruments
  • Policies and actions
  • Challenges and new figures (gender violence, environmental displacement…)

 Part 4. Integration and inclusion policies and instruments

  • Integration theories and discussions
  • Public policies and actions
  • Xenophobic discourses and migration as an instrumental topic

 Part 5. The EU migration and asylum policies

  • Migration as a political issue
  • Migration-Security Nexus: The emergence of immigration control: Securitization and externalization. Migration industry. Weaponization.
  • Migration-Development Nexus: Remittances. Brain Drain vs. Brain Gain. South-South dynamics

Methodology

International Migration is a course of 6 ECTS, these credits will be divided between lectures with debate, seminars with preseentations by students, tutorials and independent work by the students individually or in groups. 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures with debate 30 1.2 6, 1, 8, 11, 25, 18, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22, 21, 7, 24
Seminars and oral presentations of students 24 0.96 2, 4, 10, 16, 5
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 16 0.64 7
Type: Autonomous      
Study of the thematics of the course as well as complementary readings 80 3.2 3, 23, 12, 9, 19

Assessment

Students are asked to demonstrate basic knowledge of theoretical concepts in a balanced way for all parts of the course. To pass the course, the students should get at least a score of 4 in each of the planned exams. Once achieved this minimum grade of 4, final scores shall be made with weighted average grades of all works: when the final note weighted on both sides (exams and papers), plus assistance and participation in activities, is equal to or greater than 5 it will be considered that the subject will be passed. To pass the course, it is necessary but not sufficient to obtain a minimum of 4 in both exams. 

The midterm exam will be held during the course, on the day set by the teacher, and will be announced in advance. The second and final exam will be at the end of the semester, the day set by the Faculty and will be announced in advance. The dates of practical works and other activities will be specified according to the programming and evolution of the subject (see Campus Virtual). 

The practical works cannot be done after the fixed date. 

Unique assessment:

Students who have requested it within the deadline and in the appropriate manner, will be able to take a single assessment which will consist of an exercise composed of an exam (60% of the grade) and a practical activity (40%).

This exercise will take place at the end of the semester, on the day set by the Faculty for the examination of the ordinary assessment, and will be made public in sufficient advance. If the student do not pass this test with a score of 5 out of 10, the exercise can be retaken on the date set by the Faculty as a compensatory assessment.

 


Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final exam (Parts III-V) 40% 0 0 6, 23, 9, 11, 10, 25, 15, 22, 21, 19, 7, 24
Mid-term exam (Parts I&II) 30% 0 0 6, 2, 3, 23, 4, 12, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 22, 20, 19, 5, 7, 24
Participation 10% 0 0 22, 5, 7
Short papers 20% 0 0 1, 12, 11, 25, 18, 13, 14, 17, 21, 19, 7

Bibliography

Arango, J. (2017). Theories of international migration. In International migration in the new millennium (pp. 25-45). Routledge. 

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315252001-10/theories-international-migration-joaquin-arango

 

Betts, A. (2008). Global migration governance (No. 2008/43). GEG Working Paper.

https://www.geg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Betts_GEG%20WP%202008_43.pdf

 

Boswell, C. (2007). Theorizing migration policy: Is there a third way?. International migration review, 41(1), 75-100.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27645653

 

Carens, J. H. (1987). Aliens and citizens: the case for open borders. The review of politics, 251-273.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1407506

 

Castles, S. (2004). Why migration policies fail. Ethnic and racial studies, 27(2), 205-227.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0141987042000177306

 

Cornelius, W. A., & Tsuda, T. (2004). Controlling immigration: The limits of government intervention. In Cornelius, W. et alt (Ed.) Controlling immigration: A global perspective, 2, 3-48. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

 

De Haas, H., Czaika, M., Flahaux, M. L., Mahendra, E., Natter, K., Vezzoli, S., & Villares‐Varela, M. (2019). International migration: Trends, determinants, and policy effects. Population and Development Review, 45(4), 885-922.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padr.12291

 

Freeman, G. P. (2006). National models, policy types, and the politics of immigration in liberal democracies. West European Politics, 29(2), 227-247.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402380500512585

 

Gammeltoft-Hansen, T. (2014). International refugee law and refugee policy: the case of deterrence policies. Journal of Refugee Studies, 27(4), 574-595.

https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article-abstract/27/4/574/2798182

 

Guild, E. (2006). The Europeanisation of Europe's asylum policy. International Journal of Refugee Law, 18(3-4), 630-651.

https://academic.oup.com/ijrl/article-abstract/18/3-4/630/1537932

 

Guiraudon, V., & Lahav, G. (2000). A reappraisal of the state sovereignty debate: The case of migration control. Comparative political studies, 33(2), 163-195. 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0010414000033002001?journalCode=cpsa

 

Joppke, C. (1998). Why liberal states accept unwanted immigration. World politics, 266-293.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/why-liberal-states-accept-unwanted-immigration/7F3FE447EBEC0DCCFBB089C188F47034

 

Lahav, G., & Guiraudon, V. (2006). Actors and venues in immigration control: Closing the gap between political demands and policy outcomes. West European Politics, 29(2), 201-223.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402380500512551

 

Massey, D. S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A., & Taylor, J. E. (1993). Theories of international migration: A review and appraisal. Population and development review, 431-466.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2938462

 

Meyers, E. (2000). Theories of international immigration policy—A comparative analysis. International migration review, 34(4), 1245-1282.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/019791830003400407?journalCode=mrxa

 

Scholten, P., & Penninx, R. (2016). The multilevel governance of migration and integration. In Integration processes and policies in Europe (pp. 91-108). Springer, Cham.

 

Thielemann, E. (2011). How Effective are Migration and Non-Migration Policies that Affect Forced Migration. Migration Studies Unit Working Papers, (2011/14).

https://www.lse.ac.uk/government/Assets/Documents/pdf/research-groups/msu/WP-2011-14.pdf

 

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the 'other'. Ethnic and racial studies, 21(4), 593-612.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/014198798329784
 

 

 

Software

The specific programme will be posted in the campus virtual before the classes begin