The Politics of Exit: Reversing the Immigration Paradigm
Author(s)
Green, Nancy L.
Abstract
Migration is a multifaceted subject that has been treated by as many perspectives as there are disciplines and theories. But one thing has characterized most of the historical and sociological literature in the major countries of immigration in the past few decades: it has been resolutely, if understandably, a literature mirroring itself, a history of immigration. Reversing the immigration perspective has several advantages beyond providing an important mirror image to the approaches mentioned above. For the migrants themselves, the attitudes and constraints surrounding departure are an important framework for understanding subsequent arrival and settlement; later relations to “home” will in part be grounded in how “home” conceives of its emigrants. For the state, looking at emigration is another way of understanding the expectations of nation building and its fears of loss; emigration even more than immigration defines the outer boundaries of the state. Finally, the view from the other side helps lay the groundwork for a better integration of emigration and immigration as an interconnected process, both for individuals and the state; em/immigration is of a piece for those who move, but emigration and immigration policies are also interrelated aspects of international relations.
