Temporary migration in Africa : views from the Global South

Politicians in the Global North frequently warn their populations of threats of possible migration flows from Africa. The general argument goes like this: if border security measures were relaxed, migrants from Global Southern countries would flood Northern countries, would stay there permanently, a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrican review of economics and finance Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 6
Main Authors Ozkul, Derya, Obeng-Odoom, Franklin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published UNISA Press 01.12.2013
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Politicians in the Global North frequently warn their populations of threats of possible migration flows from Africa. The general argument goes like this: if border security measures were relaxed, migrants from Global Southern countries would flood Northern countries, would stay there permanently, and would cause social and economic problems for the rest of the society. This view has been pervasive since the 1950s and 60s and led the Northern countries to sign bilateral 'guest worker' agreements with various countries in the Global South. To prevent these temporary migrants from becoming permanent residents, the receiving countries have typically instituted top-down measures enforced strictly, if not ruthlessly. Even then, these measures have not always worked and some 'temporary' migrants ultimately became 'permanent residents' (see Castles, 2004 for an analysis of why migration policies fail).
ISSN:2042-1478
2042-1478