Migrations in Kazakhstan: past and present

This article traces the history of migration flows from Russia to Kazakhstan before 1917 to the present. The present problems in the republic stem from the complicated character of migration. Russian migration of Cossacks and peasants began after Russian annexation in 1731. Migration was intense during the Revolution of 1905-07 and the strongest during 1917-91. Records reveal 1.1 million migrants and 5 million total population in 1900. 6.2 million migrated during 1917-91. During 1917-91, migrants in the early years were victims of collectivization (est. 250,000), followed by WWI refugees and migrants from northern provinces fleeing civil war (100,000 persons). During the 1930s, industrial workers were recruited (1.3 million). "Unreliables" were deported during WWII (1.3 million). Forced evacuees from occupied territories settled during 1941-45 (1.45 million). Spontaneous flows occurred during the 1970s (1 million). There were secret military settlements (250,000), labor migrants (200,000), and war and ethnic refugees fleeing national conflicts (50,000) post-WWII. 42% of Kazakhs died from hunger and epidemics, and 33% fled abroad during the early decades of the century. In 1937, population amounted to 2.8 million. Today, about 100 nationalities live in Kazakhstan, although the largest groups are Kazakhs (43.2%) and Russians (36.4%). In 1993, 75.8% of the total work force were non-Kazakh workers. Kazakhs are 60% of rural population, but many are migrating to cities that are dominated by Russians. Growing unemployment fostered tensions with the Chechens and may lead to conflicts with Russians.     

The changes in the migration patterns in the post-Soviet states: the first decade

Following a short-term burst of migration activity after the dissolution of the USSR, the current situation is marked by the unusually low population territorial mobility, defined by both the political and, increasingly, the socioeconomic factors. While this trend indicates some degree of minority accommodation, it also demonstrates the depth of economic crisis and increasing socioeconomic differentiation. Visible also is the disproportionate influence exercised by Russia on the formation of migration flows in the region. Remaining the major recipient of migrants, Russia increasingly plays a role of supplier of labor migrants to the West, and acts as a “bridge” for those attempting to reach Western Europe. Meanwhile, Russia still lacks an effective legislative base, institutional mechanisms, and political will for dealing with the new migration flows.     

Immigration to Portugal

Abstract

A peripheral West European country with a medium-sized population, Portugal experienced since the late 1990s a radical change in its migration trends, with growing and constant immigration flows. Not only the number of legal immigrants duplicated, but also the profile of immigrants changed and diversified. As a result, Portugal's public policies were challenged, and new social questions emerged. In particular, both public and private bodies have to deal with an increasing segmentation of the composition of immigration and of the labor market employing immigrants. Portugal still has not opted clearly for a model of immigration, and adaptation to these changes promises not to be easy, especially because the Portuguese society is simultaneously facing tensions deriving from its own     

Immigration and the Remaking of New York

Abstract

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas that favored European immigrants, and for the first time placed all countries on an equal footing. The law resulted in increased overall immigration, and altered the sources of immigrants to the U.S. Since 1970, New York City has absorbed 2.6 million immigrants, primarily from non-European sources, who have dramatically altered the City's racial/Hispanic mix. Using immigration and birth records, as well as data from decennial censuses, this paper examines immigration to New York and assesses the demographic impact of these flows on the City's population.

Current immigrant flows have noticeably increased the ethnic diversity within the major race/Hispanic groups. This is largely due to increases in refugee flows, and to recent changes in immigration law that allow for “diversity” visas, which are aimed at countries that are under-represented in immigration flows to the U.S. Diversity immigration has provided New York with a continuing flow of new groups, most recently from Bangladesh, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, who have established enclaves in many of the City's neighborhoods. The increasing diversity poses serious challenges for social service and health care professionals, who need to devise new strategies to deal with the disparate socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems of new ethnic groups. This is especially important given that New York's ethnic mix will continue to be churned, especially by way of diversity immigration and refugee flows from all parts of the globe.     

Capital and Labour Mobility and their Impacts on Mexico's Regional Labour Markets

Abstract

This paper studies the effects of capital and labor mobility on real wages across Mexican states for the period 1997–2006. Employing dynamic panel data methods, we find: (1) strong positive effects on real wages from foreign direct investment (FDI) and from migration; (2) domestic and foreign migration provide similar wage effects; and (3) alternative partitions indicate that real wages are more sensitive to FDI-related fluctuations across states with relatively lower wages and migration levels. Overall, these results provide support that real wages respond positively to fluctuations in capital flows and labour movements as predicted from the theory.     

Demographic trends in Latvia

A review of recent demographic trends in Latvia is presented based on a variety of published sources. The impact of the two world wars on the population of Latvia is first examined. Consideration is then given to sex distribution, age distribution, rural-urban residence, nuptiality, and birth and death rates. Particular attention is paid to migration to Latvia from elsewhere in the USSR and to the ethnic balance of the population.     

The Hungarians in East Central Europe: a demographic profile

Tabular data are presented on the demographic characteristics of ethnic Hungarians in East Central Europe. Information is included on the total Hungarian population in neighboring states; nationality; language; and religion.     

Instrumental and cultural considerations in constructing European identity among ethnic minority groups in Lithuania in a generational perspective

Research on European identity focuses mainly on majority populations in Western European countries without differentiating among specific population groups and generations, and, above all, disregarding ethnic minority groups living in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the development of European identity among three ethnic minority groups in Lithuania: Belarusians, Poles, and Russians. Theoretically, the project is based on the instrumental approach, which argues that European identity is closely related to perceived benefits from “being European,” and on the cultural approach, which holds a common history, ancestry, and culture responsible for the development of European identity. Existing research has, above all, emphasized the importance of instrumental considerations. Analyzing qualitative interviews collected in the FP7 research project “ENRI-East,” the paper compares how young and adult members of ethnic minority groups construct European identity due to “instrumental” and “cultural” considerations. The results show that both instrumental and cultural considerations are relevant and further development of European identity depends on which age group or ethnic minority group an individual belongs to.     

The conferences

Each of the post-Soviet Central Asian states inherited both inefficient collectivized agricultural systems and an understanding of the nation rooted in categories defined by Soviet nationality policy. Despite the importance placed on territorial homelands in many contemporary understandings of nationalism, the divergent formal responses to these dual Soviet legacies have generally been studied in isolation from one another. However, there are conceptual reasons to expect more overlap in these responses than generally assumed; in this paper, we engage in a focused comparison of three post-Soviet Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in order to investigate how nationalizing policies and discourse, land distribution, and ethnic tensions interact with each other over time. We reveal that the nationalizing discourses of the three states – despite promoting the titular groups vis-à-vis other groups – have had limited influence on the actual processes of land distribution. Furthermore, the Kyrgyzstani case challenges the assumption that the effect flows unidirectionally from nationalizing policies and discourse to land reform implementation; in this case, there is evidence that the disruption caused by farm reorganization generated grievances which were then articulated by some nationalistic political elites.     

Labor Migration and the Philippine Labor Market

Abstract

Based on recorded data, the Philippines has experienced the largest outflow in Asia of both permanent emigrants and migrant labor over the last three to four decades. The number working and living abroad has reached almost 8% of the population and the yearly outflow of workers bound for an increasingly varied destinations and occupations is about 14% of the labor force. The paper discusses the rising scale and changing structure of migrants and explains these by three interacting factors that make for labor market flexibilityan extensive market-based educational system, active employment service industry and migration's own backward and forward linkages. Further discussed are the economic implications of the migration and some rigidity in the education market that tends to pull down returns to migration.     

Migratory labour in the Arab world

Some aspects of modern labor migration to the oil-producing countries of the Middle East are considered. Data on international labor migration among the countries of the region in 1980 are presented. The qualifications of the expatriate labor forces are then examined, and the stability and uncertainties of the labor market are discussed. The political implications of such migration for both host and sending countries are also considered.     

The Communist Ideological Legacy and Serb–Albanian Relations in Kosovo∗

This article uses Central Asian examples to challenge theories of ethnic nationalism that locate its origins in intellectual activism (Hroch), state modernization processes (Gellner), or the rise of mass media (Anderson). Modern Uyghur cultural politics and traditional Central Asian dynastic genealogies reveal related processes used in constructing modern nationalist symbols and pre-modern ideologies of descent. Modern territorial states with ideals of social unification and bureaucratic organization rely upon nationalist discourses to elaborate and rework cultural forms into evidence for the ethnic nation. The state links citizens to institutions through nationalist content used in political discourse, schooling, and public performances. Because such content is presented as authentic but used instrumentally, its contingency and fabrication have to be concealed from view: the culturally intimate spaces of bureaucratic production of culture and narratives are separated from public performances. The creation of genealogies used to legitimate pre-modern states are similar: compositional processes and goals are kept offstage, and little is disclosed in the public historical narratives and performances.     

Internal migration in Turkey: Socioeconomic characteristics by destination and type of move, 1965–70

Based on examination of internal migration in Turkey during the 1965-70 period, the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of migrants and the variation in these properties by type of move undertaken (first, repeat, and return migration) and by choice of destination are described. The volume, rates, and differentials of migration are discussed in this context. A very rapid rural-urban migration occurred in the 1950-70 period; urban population increased from 18.8 to 35.8% of the total. The emphasis on industrialization, the mechanization and relatively slower growth of agricultural production, the scarcity of new lands to cultivate, and the construction of a large road network connecting cities with their hinterland and rural communities contributed to this increased movement. The 1970 Turkish census questionnaire included a question on "place of usual residence 5 years ago" for the 1st time. Along with information on place of birth and usual residence in 1970, the census provides information on place of residence at 3 points in time. The study is based on a 1/1000 sample selected from the household records of the 1970 Population Census of Turkey. Discussion is restricted to the migration of the adult population; the migration of children (up to age 15), which is viewed as involuntary is excluded. The working file contains 20,602 cases. Variables analyzed include age, sex, education, labor force status, occupation, and place of residence in 1970. The migration-defining variables are province of birth and usual residence in 1965 and 1970. Census data indicated that 9.2% of the population 15 years of age and older changed their place of residence during the 1965-70 period, moving to another province. An additional 4% moved to another place within the same province. There were strong indications of stage migration, if movements both within and between provinces are considered. All urban places showed population grew through intraprovincial migration. Only large metropolitan cities have grown through interprovincial migration. Migrants from rural areas 1st move to towns and cities within the same province and then make a 2nd move to other, mostly larger, urban areas and metropolitan cities. The majority of the interprovincial migrants (60%) were interurban movers, and only 1/5 were rural to urban migrants. +a large group of repeat migrants who moved primarily between urban places, were relatively older, better educated and skilled, and more likely to be employed in white-collar occupations than their counterparts. Although interprovincial migration was dominated by young and single males, there was considerable variation in migrant properties according to the type of move made and the place of destination. Socioeconomic characteristics of the 2 basic migration types are included.     

Migrants,refugees and foreign policy: prevention and intervention strategies

The authors discuss policy development options to deal with migrants and refugees to developed countries. "Our principal argument--perhaps to state the obvious--is that international migration and refugee movements are foreign policy, not simply domestic, issues. Nevertheless, citizens and policy makers are all too often unaware that if they want to secure their borders against unwanted population flows, this cannot be done simply by unilateral decisions to regulate entry." The focus is on Germany and the United States.     

Accepting Alien Rule? State-Building Nationalism in Georgia’s Azeri Borderland

Abstract

How did ethnic Azeris in the Marneuli, Bolnisi and Dmanisi districts, located inside Georgia but bordering Azerbaijan, react to the reorganisation of political space along national lines after the Soviet Union’s dissolution? ‘Beached’ in foreign states bent on nationalising their domains, minorities throughout Eurasia sometimes rejected and sometimes accepted their alien rulers. This essay examines reactions to this predicament among Georgia’s Azeris. Drawing on elite interviews and data from a matched-guise experiment, it concludes that locals have come to accept their host state after its state-building nationalism took an inclusive turn and the distinction between aliens and natives faded.     

Peasant flood in China: internal migration and its policy determinants

A survey was undertaken by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986 to explore the composition and patterns of rural population movements. 230 villages were selected from 84 townships in 59 counties scattered across 11 regions. Because of incomplete information, only data for 222 villages were used. Population flows were classified into: 1) intramigration or intraflow within the boundaries of their own townships; 2) out-migration, emigration, or outflow involving those who left the townships; and 3) in-migration, immigration, or inflow that affected those who moved into the 222 villages from outside. Age, sex, education, postmigration occupation, and duration of stay details were obtained for every migrant. Some 43,223 persons were involved in intraflows and 26,993 emigrated from the surveyed townships in 1986. The volume of internal migration in China seemed to be related to the distance between the origins and destinations of migrants. Among 70,216 migrants, about 74% were males and only 26% were females. Over 57.38% of the migrants from 222 villages shifted into industrial (34.31%) and construction (23.07%) activities. The service sector (food providers, stall holders, door-to-door retailers, barbers, and small shops) attracted 9.73%. Only 565 were engaged in cropping and 1614 in forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, and fishery. As to age groups, 1688 (2.4%) were aged 17 years or under, 61,530 (88%) were aged 18-45, and 6999 (9.9%) were 46 years old or older. In 1986 seasonal migrants accounted for some 80% of all emigrants from the surveyed villages. Education did not play a significant role in promoting migration in the mid-1980s. 39% of the labor force had received primary education and the same percentage of out-migrants had acquired primary school education. The younger the age group, the more of them tended to move away from home: for those aged 17 or under if 100 persons migrated within the township, 113 moved out of town. A nationwide network should be established to provide information for migrants regarding their rights and obligations, job prospects, and cultural differences.     

Framing ethnic minority mobilisation in Central Asia: The cases of Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

This article seeks to understand why, although widely predicted, very little ethnically motivated political mobilisation has occurred in post-Soviet Central Asia. Building on the contribution of frame analysis, the article examines the case of Uzbek communities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Different frames have been articulated by the elites and have been used to mobilise and demobilise the community. The more successful ones (those that resonated) were less confrontational, and ultimately led the Uzbek communities towards a non-confrontational path with the authorities. The article concludes that frame analysis sheds important insights on the process of the mobilisation of ethnic minorities in Central Asia, and also contributes to the literature on ethnic mobilisation.     

Immigration to Ghana

Abstract

The globalization of international labor migration is manifest in all countries now engaging in migration systems that are growing in size and complexity and producing an increasing diversity of flows. Furthermore, many of the processes that create and drive these systems operate on a worldwide basis, the consequence of economic globalization, capital mobility and widespread realization by governments that human resources can be traded for profit like any other resource.

This paper looks at Ghana's immigration policy in the light of its economic situation. It characterizes Ghana's immigration policy as geared towards using immigration to attract critical foreign investment, transfer of technology and human resource capital/skills for socio-economic development. Running concurrently is the policy to prevent illegal immigration, transnational crime, economic exploitation, social corruption and human trafficking.

The paper concludes that when the economic situation of Ghana was buoyant in the 1960s it attracted many immigrants especially from neighboring West African countries, however when the country's economy saw a down turn, immigrants were used as a convenient scapegoat and many were expelled. The irony though is that while the current poor economic situation of Ghana has made Ghanaians to immigrate to other countries, the political stability of the country does attract other West Africans and non-Africans and it is affording the country the opportunity to streamline its immigration and citizenship laws.     

“Illiberal Spaces:” Uzbekistan's extraterritorial security practices and the spatial politics of contemporary authoritarianism

Research on comparative authoritarianism has tended to neglect spatial approaches to the politics of non-democratic states. This article argues that spatial theory offers a useful framework for exploring extraterritorial security practices designed to counter political opposition among migrant and exile communities. A case study of Uzbekistan explores how the state responded to the perceived security threats posed by rapidly growing communities of labor migrants and the activities of many political and religious activists in exile. The security services developed a network of extraterritorial intelligence and security mechanisms – including surveillance, detention, interrogation and forced returns – to pre-empt or respond to any perceived threats to the regime emanating from abroad. These security practices extended the state in complex ways beyond its borders, resulting in new “state spaces” that reproduced elements of domestic repression in other jurisdictions. The article suggests that such extraterritorial practices are typical of contemporary authoritarian regimes, as such states seek to manage the spatial challenges produced by mass global migration, international financial flows, and transnational processes of knowledge production.     

The Religious Dimension of Post-Communist “Ethnic” Conflict

1 This paper is a result of the ongoing research project, “Transnational Politics in the Black Sea Rim: Religions, States, and Minorities” (April 2009–March 2012) financed by the Japan Ministry of Education. The draft of this paper was presented at the international conference, “The Modernization of Russia and Eurasia: Challenges and Opportunities,” held at National Chengchi University (Taipei) 13–14 November 2010. View all notesThe collapse of socialist regimes resulted in tremendous regional realignments in the regions surrounding the heartland of Eurasia. Remarkably, not only states, but also transnational actors have played significant roles in this process. This study highlights transnational ethnicities (Mingrelians, Armenians, and Muslims) in Abkhazia, and tries to describe how the involvement of transnational religious organizations (such as the Armenian Apostolic Church and Turkey's Diyanet) affected the politics around these minorities. In the Black Sea rim, interstate and transnational politics are rather autonomous from each other. For example, when scores of powerful countries, such as the United States and European Union member states, desperately tried to ignore Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, regarding it as a lawless act, Turkey's Diyanet admitted that Russia's recognition of Abkhazia created a new legal situation and began to fulfill its long-dreamed-of desire to help the Abkhazian Muslims. According to political conjuncture in Abkhazia, the same Gali population changes from Georgians to Mingrelians and back. This demonstrates how ethnic categories are used in a constructivist way in the Black Sea rim.