Migration and its Enemies: Global Capital, Migrant Labour and the Nation-State

PLEASE NOTE - THIS TITLE IS AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK (ISBN 0 7546 4658 0) AT A PRICE OF $34.95In accordance with neo-liberal doctrine, a free market in ideas, information, finance, goods and services gradually pervaded our lives from the 1970s. However, free market doctrine is notably absent in international migration policies. Here three major social actors are in play:* Employers who often want to increase the supply of imported labourers, either because they cannot find suitable local workers or because they wish to reduce their labour costs.* Migrants who are often stopped, but sometimes bypass border control illegally, through being trafficked or at their own initiative.* Politicians who are under pressure, often from local workers and sometimes from extreme xenophobic elements, to restrict immigration.In this book, Robin Cohen shows how the preferences, interests and actions of global capital, migrant labour and national politicians intersect and often contradict each other. Does capital require subordinated labour? Is it possible for capital to move to labour rather than labour to capital? Can trade substitute for migration?Cohen explores how nation-states segment the 'insiders' from the 'outsiders' and how politically powerless migrants relate to more privileged migrants and the national citizenry, discussing the functions and effects of social exclusion and deportations. He asks whether politicians can effectively control national borders even if they wish to do so. These important questions are addressed in a wide-ranging, lucid and accessible narrative, offering readers a compelling account of the historical origins and contemporary dynamics of global migration.

Robin Cohen is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick.