POL 134B (Seminar)The Global Migration Crisis

Fall 2017

POL 134b (seminar)The Global Migration Crisis

Jytte Klausen, Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation

OFFICE HOURS: TBA

Politics seminar (comparative) and IGS credit available.

This is a writing intensive course (WI credit).

Graduate students are welcome (additional course requirements to be discussed).

DESCRIPTION

11 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in their country in late 2011. In 2017, every month, about 8,000 illegal African migrants have tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy in rickety boats belonging to people smugglers. Many die on the way. Globally, estimates are that as many as 65 million people have been displaced from their homes by war or ethnic persecution. The refugee crisis has reached proportions matching the displacement of people caused by World War 2.

This course examines the refugee crisis and the patterns of global migration and immigration policy in Europe and the US. Immigration poses a dilemma for Western democracies. Anti-immigrant sentiments are rising but immigrants are, at the same time, regarded as needed for their skills and willingness to take jobs not wanted by others. Anti-immigrant backlash fuels the electoral success of far-right parties, yet employer interests and human rights norms limit what governments can do to control immigration, both legal and illegal.

Students will become familiar with the facts of migration, the core concepts and theories informing scholarly debates and disagreements, and the conflicting views and interests of policy-makers, migrants, and communities affected by immigration.

The course is cross-listed with IGS and seminar credit is available. The course also counts towards the comparative politics requirement for the Politics major.

REQUIREMENTS

(1)Attendance is mandatory. If you are unable to attend or will have to attend class unprepared, you must call or email me before class.

(2)Students are expected to complete the class assignments listed in the syllabus as part of their class preparation, and come to class ready to discuss their findings with the class. This is a seminar class. Participation is required.

(3)Students are expected to complete three in-class assignments related to class discussions and one final paper (8-10 pages) based upon the assigned reading. Students will be expected to work on improving their writing and presentations with respect to style and accuracy, and demonstrate the ability to use correct style for citations and bibliography.

Grades are based upon a student’s ability to demonstrate, in class discussions, a grasp of the core facts or arguments in the weekly readings. Grades will be based on class preparation, PRESENTATIONS (3) and participation (50%) and on the quality of the final paper (50%).

Graduate students may take the class. They are required to read the assignments listed as recommended and to write a final review paper (15 pages) in addition to the requirements listed for undergraduate students.

Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week).

Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).

Learning goals:

The class will help students to develop the following core skills:

Gain knowledge about the history, causes, and facts of global migration and refugee resettlement.
Become familiar with the international and national legal frameworks for the treatment of immigrants and refugees.
Evaluating evidence and thinking critically about arguments, based on evidence.
Learn to read and assess statistical information.
Students will become familiar with theories of the drivers of global migration and the core legal concepts embedded in international treaties regarding the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.

Completing the Politics major enables students to develop the following Core Sills:

Thinking critically about arguments, based on evaluation of evidence.
Articulating reasoned arguments clearly, both orally and in written form.
Familiarity with a variety of research methods for understanding politics, including comparative case study, area studies, textual interpretation and statistical analysis.
Ability to use the concepts and methods of political science to conduct research and analysis.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.

PLEASE NOTE ALSO: You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity (see Any suspected instances of alleged dishonesty will be referred to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. Instances of academic dishonesty may result in sanctions including but not limited to, failing grades being issued, educational programs, and suspension.

REQUIRED READINGS

The reading readings and factsheets are listed in the schedule. Students are expected to study the links to factsheets and statistical sources prior to class. Undergraduate students are expected to choose and skim read, at least, one article from the recommended readings for each class. Graduate student are expected to read the “recommended readings” in addition to those listed as “required.” Articles assigned are available via the university library webpage (Brandeis Scholar). This book is required reading and available at the campus bookstore:

Ruben Andersson,Illegality, Inc.: Clandestine Migration and the Business of Bordering Europe. Univ. of California Press, 2014.

Other required and recommended readings are listed in the class schedule and are available for direct download from the library webpage.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week 1—Thursday, Aug.31.Introduction.

What are the social and legal differences between migrants and refugees? And when does a refugee become a migrant?

Reading Assignment:

How to become a refugee in the United States. U.S. Refugee Policy:

Videos:

Syrian refugees in Jordan:
Charities under fire for rescuing migrants, also, “What is the current status of migrant rescues in the Mediterranean?” at
Breaking the Ramadan fast in Aleppo’s ruins:

Week 2—Thursday, Sept. 7. Would there be immigration in a borderless world?

NOTE: This class will be rescheduled.

Would states treat their citizens better if there were no borders? Or put differently, do borders main international inequality?

Required:

Peggy Levitt, "You Know, Abraham Was Really the First Immigrant": Religion and Transnational Migration, International Migration Review, Vol. 37, No. 3, (Fall, 2003), pp. 847-873.

Documentation:

Recommended:

Susan K. Brown and Frank D. Bean, Conceptualizing Migration: From Internal/International to Kinds of Membership. In International Handbook of Migration and Population Distribution. International Handbooks of Population, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht: 2016, pp. 91-106. (DOI
Richard Wright and Mark Ellis, Perspectives on Migration Theory: Geography. In International Handbook of Migration and Population Distribution. International Handbooks of Population, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht: 201, pp. 11-30. (DOI

Week 3—Thursday, Sept. 14. Explaining Migration—Theory v. Complex Realities

Why do people migrate? Migration occurs in global waves shaped by “push” and “pull” factors.How do refugees fit into the migration debate?

Required reading:

Everett S. Lee, A Theory of Migration, Demography, vol. 3., no.1 (1966), pp.47-57.
Aristide R. Zolberg, "The next waves: migration theory for a changing world."International Migration Review(1989): 403-430.
Lionel Beehner, "Are Syria's Do-It-Yourself Refugees Outliers or Examples of a New Norm?"Journal of International Affairs68, no. 2 (2015): 157.

Recommended:

Douglas S. Massey, “Why Does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis." The Handbook of International Migration: The American Experience, edited by C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz and J. DeWind. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1999, pp. 34-52.
Young Hoon Song, “International Humanitarianism and Refugee Protection: Consequences of Labeling and Politicization” Journal of International and Area Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (December 2013) , pp. 1-19.

No classes on Thursday, Sept. 21.

WARNING--ASSIGNEMENT I FOR WEEK 4 (SEE BELOW).To be continued in Week 5.

Week 4—Thursday, Sept. 28. The Global Perspective—The Facts.

Who are the refugees and where are they now? Where will they be in a year? Ten years from now? Why are the international aid organizations keen to distinguish between refugees and immigrants?

The class will focus on students’ presentations of their findings.

Assignment:Pick a region and identify the conflicts driving refugees and migration—both internal and trans-border—in the region. How many people are affected? Which are the sender countries and which are the recipient countries?Who are the affected people?

Make a PowerPoint presentation comprised of max. 5 slides presenting your findings, with one slide dedicated to answering the key words underlined in the above. Use maps and tables. No bullet points. Please make copies of presentation to hand out in class and be ready to explain your observations to the class.

Region picks: Africa (south of the Sahel), Americas (North and South), Australia & New Zealand (Oceania), Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa (Greater Arabia), Central Asia (Caucasus), South Asia

Sources:

UNCHR, Global Trends. Forced Displacement 2015. Available at [Uploaded to LATTE]
UNCHR, Figures at a Glance,
IOM, Global Migration Trends Factsheet 2015, Available at [Uploaded to LATTE]
UNCR. THE UN Refugee Agency. Worldwide Displacement Hits All-Time High as War and Persecution Increase. (Access:

Note that these organizations and the Migration Policy Institute ( produce a wealth of data and analyses, which may be accessed through their websites.

Required reading:

“What’s Driving the Global Refugee Crisis?” The International Crisis Group, September 15, 2016.
Fact sheets: Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts (

Week 5—Tuesday,Oct. 3 (Brandeis Thursday).Repatriation and the Legal Framework.

Week 4 presentations, cont.

Is repatriation legal? What rights do refugees have? And what rights do irregular migrants have? Deportations and voluntary returns have picked up significantly in recent years. Who gets sent back?

Quote: Refugee law and international human rights law are closely intertwined; refugees are fleeing governments that are either unable or unwilling to protect their basic human rights. Additionally, in cases where the fear of persecution or threat to life or safety arises in the context of an armed conflict, refugee law also intersects with international humanitarian law (

Readings:

Italy Is Pleading With Europe to Help Deal with a Record Influx of Refugees, TIME, Jul 11, 2017.
Italy is Running Out of Patience, Deutche Welle,
Europe Deporting. Zeit Online, Aug 7, 2015.
Merkel seeks to ramp up failed asylum seeker deportations, BBC News February 9, 2017.
Jelena Bjelica and Thomas Rutting, Voluntary and Forced Returns to Afghanistan in 2016/17: Trends, statistics and experiences, 19 May 2017.

Recommended:

Ines Hasselberg, "The Politics of Deportation." InEnduring Uncertainty: Deportation, Punishment and Everyday Life, 23-40. NEW YORK; OXFORD: Berghahn Books, 2016.
Roger Waldinger, "Crossing Borders: International Migration in the New Century."Contemporary Sociology42, no. 3 (2013): 349-63.
Antje Ellermann,States Against Migrants: Deportation in Germany and the United States. Cambridge University Press, 2009, OR article version of book: Antje Ellermann, "Coercive capacity and the politics of implementation: Deportation in Germany and the United States."Comparative Political Studies38, no. 10 (2005): 1219-1244.

No classes—Thursday, Oct. 5.

Week 6—Wednesday, Oct. 11 (Brandeis Thursday). An Anthropology of Human Smuggling.

Why do people pay people smugglers to take them on perilous journeys to countries where they may never be allowed to live legally? Use the “push” vs. “pull” concepts to analyze the motivations of the people described in Part I of Andersson’s book.

Required reading:

Andersson, Part 1: Borderlands.
Factsheet: Andersson—in his own words:

Recommended:

No classes. Thursday, Oct. 12.

WARNING--ASSIGNMENT II FOR WEEK 7.

Assignment Due October 19:Investigation—Find out as much as you can about people smugglers. Who are they? Why do they do it? And how can they be stopped? (3 pages, to be turned in to the instructor)

Week 7—Thursday, Oct. 19.Human Smuggling as a Business

Who are the human smugglers? Discuss the various roles played by the characters in the book.

Required reading:

Andersson, Part II: Crossings
Interview with a Mexican people smuggler:
Interview with a Syrian people smuggler:

Recommended:

Emma Herman, "Migration as a family business: The role of personal networks in the mobility phase of migration."International Migration44, no. 4 (2006): 191-230.
Elzbieta M. Gozdziak and Elizabeth A. Collett. "Research on human trafficking in North America: A review of literature." International Migration 43, no. 1-2 (2005): 99-128.
Anne T. Gallagher, "Exploitation in migration: Unacceptable but inevitable."Journal of international Affairs68, no. 2 (2015): 55.

Week 8—Thursday, Oct. 26.Community Impact—Winners & Losers at the Point of Origination

The human costs to migration in sender countries are often ignored. Who benefits? And who are the losers in the global chain linking sender communities to smugglers and to the footholds in the destination countries?

Required reading:

Anderson, Part III: Confrontations

Recommended:

Wendy A. Vogt, "Crossing Mexico: Structural violence and the commodification of undocumented Central American migrants."American Ethnologist40, no. 4 (2013): 764-780.
Jørgen Carling, "Scripting remittances: Making sense of money transfers in transnational relationships."International Migration Review48, no. s1 (2014). [Apologies to the graduate students; please help me find a more readable article on remittances and the exchange economy between migrants and those who stay behind.]

Week 9—Thursday, Nov. 2. Security, Global Migration and Transnational Networks

Is the concept of “transnational communities” helpful to the understanding of the behavior of migrants and refugees? Is ISIS a “transnational” community? NOTE: Before class, make a list of “good” and “bad” transnational networks/communities.

[Additional readings may be added]

Required:

Ruben Andersson, "Hunter and prey: patrolling clandestine migration in the Euro-African borderlands."Anthropological Quarterly87, no. 1 (2014): 119-149.
Jytte Klausen, “The Myth of Homegrown Terrorism,” The Georgetown Security Studies Review, Special Issue: What the New Administration Needs to Know About Terrorism and Counterterrorism, February 2017, 50-60.