The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World

Citation

de Haas, H., Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2020). The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World (6th ed.). Red Globe Press.

Chapter Summary

The sixth edition has fifteen chapters and runs to about 440 pages, followed by a glossary, bibliography and index. The Introduction groups the chapters into three sets: Chapters 2 to 5 provide the theoretical and historical background, Chapters 6 to 9 survey the world regions since 1945, and Chapters 10 to 14 examine key themes and challenges. Chapter 15 concludes.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The opening chapter begins from the mixed hopes and fears that migration raises, in both origin and receiving societies, and from the heightened political salience of migration. It argues that the number of international migrants has stayed at around three per cent of the world population, even as it has grown in absolute terms, that most people stay where they were born, and that internal migration is larger than international migration. It identifies six post-war trends: the globalization of migration, changes in the direction of dominant flows, new destinations, the proliferation of migration transitions, the feminization of labour migration, and the politicization and securitization of migration. The authors set out six main arguments, including that labour demand in destination societies is the main driver of international migration, that migration processes gain their own momentum once started, and that ill-considered policies often have counterproductive effects.

Chapter 2: Categories of Migration

Examines the categories that researchers, the media and politicians use to describe migrants, and warns against adopting biased categories uncritically. The publisher lists this as a new chapter in the edition, with a discussion of the category of "climate refugees".

Chapter 3: Theories of Migration

Presents theories of the causes and continuation of migration and argues that insights from several of them together give a richer picture. It addresses puzzles such as why development in poor countries often increases migration, why low-skilled migration continues during high unemployment, and why migration gains momentum through networks and feedback.

Chapter 4: Migration, Ethnicity and Identity

Looks at the social and political issues that arise in destination countries from ethnic and cultural diversity. It compares modes of incorporation, from assimilation to racism, segregation, minority formation and multiculturalism, and shows how experience depends on class, gender and state ideology.

Chapter 5: International Migration before 1945

Provides a long-term view from early modern times to 1945, stressing the part states played through warfare, colonization, slavery and recruitment of workers, and the lasting links that colonial and imperial interventions created.

Chapters 6–9: Migration in Europe since 1945; Migration in the Americas; Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region; Migration in Africa and the Middle East

The regional chapters apply one periodization: 1945 to 1973, from the 1973 Oil Shock to 1989, from 1989 to the Great Recession, and since 2008. Chapter 6 includes the former Soviet Union and its successor states, which the edition expands. The authors call the regional chapters "inevitably broad-brush" and aim to show how general political-economic trends produce different migratory outcomes.

Chapter 10: The State, Politics and Migration

Treats migration as central to modern state formation and as a challenge to national identity and sovereignty, then turns to national and international politics, attempts at international governance and refugee movements.

Chapter 11: The Evolution and Effectiveness of Migration Policies

Traces how policies have developed since 1945, sets out the "migration policy toolbox" of instruments governments use over arrival, integration and return, and weighs their effectiveness and unintended effects. A new chapter in this edition.

Chapter 12: Migrants and Minorities in the Labour Force

Analyses the labour-market position of migrants and the demand for migrant labour in industrial and post-industrial economies, including recruitment and the part migrants play in subcontracting, temporary and informal work.

Chapter 13: New Ethnic Minorities and Society

Examines the social position of immigrants through legal status, social policy, ethnic communities, racism, citizenship and national identity, and asks why some migrations lead to marginalized minorities while others achieve social mobility.

Chapter 14: Migration and Development in Origin Societies

Discusses how emigration affects development and social transformation in origin countries, including the brain drain versus brain gain debate and remittances. A new chapter in this edition.

Chapter 15: Conclusion

Sums up the argument, reviews current trends and considers the future of migration and the obstacles to better international cooperation.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–5: Foundations

• Migration transition: a country shifting from sending to receiving migrants, or the reverse.
• Categories of migration: the labels used for migrants, whose use can distort analysis and debate.
• Migrant networks and feedback: processes that give migration its own momentum once started.
• Incorporation: the range of ways migrants and their descendants become part of destination societies, from assimilation to multiculturalism or exclusion.

Chapters 6–11: Regions, States and Policy

• Periodization of post-war migration: four periods used in every regional chapter.
• Securitization: the framing of migration as a threat to security and identity.
• Migration policy toolbox: the instruments governments use to control entry, integration and return.

Chapters 12–15: Consequences

• Structural demand for migrant labour: the argument that economies depend on migrants at both lower and higher skill levels.
• Brain drain and brain gain: opposing views on whether emigration helps or harms origin countries.
• Remittances: money sent home by migrants, which can raise living standards and fund local investment.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A genuinely interdisciplinary synthesis. The authors draw on anthropology, history, sociology, geography, political science and economics and say that different disciplines give complementary views. Reviewers reprinted by the publisher praise this range: Ethnic and Racial Studies (on the fourth edition) called the book "especially valuable for undergraduates" and useful as a primer for graduate students.
• A stated argument. Both the aims and the main arguments are set out early, so a reader can test each later chapter against them.
• Comparable regional chapters. Applying the same four periods to Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa and the Middle East makes the regions easier to compare.
• Support for learning. The publisher lists boxed case studies, tables, graphs and maps, a Guide to Further Reading at the end of each chapter, a glossary of key terms highlighted in the text and a companion website with additional case studies, flashcards and web links. A Choice review reproduced on the publisher's page recommends the book for all readership levels.
• Current for its date. The edition adds a chapter on categories, one on policies, one on origin countries, and wider coverage of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, with new data on anti-immigrant politics and large refugee movements.

Limitations

• Breadth over depth. The authors describe the regional chapters as "inevitably broad-brush", so anyone studying one country or region will need specialist sources.
• The authors take positions. The Introduction states that labour demand is the main driver of migration and that migration is neither the cause of nor a panacea for socioeconomic problems. Readers should treat these as arguments to test, and compare them with the work of other schools.
• Focused on international migration. Internal migration enters only where relevant, although the Introduction notes that it is far larger.
• Data age. The sample chapter's figures run to 2017 and 2018, so current numbers must come from newer sources.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within this course list, The Age of Migration is the full migration textbook. Weeks's Population places migration within a wider account of fertility, mortality and urbanization and gives it one chapter, so the two work well together. Khalid Koser's International Migration: A Very Short Introduction is a brief, balanced overview and a good first read.

Massey and colleagues' Worlds in Motion is a synthesis of theories of international migration and goes deeper on that subject; the Introduction's Guide to Further Reading itself recommends it for a comprehensive overview of theories and trends. K. Bruce Newbold's Population Geography: Tools and Issues covers migration as one topic among measurement tools and other population issues.

How to Use This Book

No prerequisites are stated, and the authors say they aim to present insights from many disciplines in ways that are accessible to readers from diverse academic or professional backgrounds.

• Core: Chapters 1 to 3 first, since they supply the vocabulary and the theory used later; then Chapter 4 on ethnicity and identity.
• Regional choice: read the regional chapters (6 to 9) that match your course, and Chapter 5 for historical background.
• Policy and politics: Chapters 10 and 11 for states, refugees and policy tools, followed by Chapters 12 to 14 on labour, minorities and development.
• A short route: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 11 and 15 give the framework, the concepts, the policy debate and the conclusions.
• Use the extras: the end-of-chapter reading guides and the companion website's case studies and flashcards, and the glossary when terms recur.