The Migration Industry and the Commercialization of International Migration

The book offers new concepts and theory for the study of international migration by weaving together diverse strands of arguments related to international migration in ways not attempted before. It suggests directing the focus of migration studies towards 'the migration industry' and the commercialization of international migration. It poses three sets of questions concerning the types of actors involved; the different roles played by the migration industry, and finally questions around the larger context of migration management, in particular the relationship between political, economic and social structures and the industries at work. The book argues for an approach that makes state policies and their un/intended consequences an indispensable reference point in efforts to understand the presence and disappearance of social market actors and activities constituting the migration industry. Only in combination with an understanding of how migration flows, the networks surrounding the migration industry, and individual agents react and adapt to regulatory efforts at the political level does it become possible to appreciate how industries and markets are mutually constitutive. Throughout the chapters, the book brings together original and cross-disciplinary theoretical explorations and original case studies. It also provides a rather global coverage of the phenomena under study, covering migrant destinations in Europe, the United States and Asia, and migrant sending regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.