States, Globalisation and the Movement of Peoples

This course explores the apparent contradiction between the global flows of capital, goods and culture and the assertion by states that they maintain the right to control the flow of peoples across their borders. We begin with a study of the bases of sovereignty claims made by modern, territorially based states and the way in which this model of legitimate political authority was globalised during the course of the twentieth century. We then turn to an investigation of the way in which such sovereignty claims work to legitimate particular forms of authority, both domestically and internationally; the relationship between such claims and the politics of identity and, in turn, the construction of the boundaries of states as both moral and physical boundaries. We will then consider the contradictions in the system through investigation of a number of issue areas in which we focus on the vulnerabilities inherent in movement within a system predicated on state authority. These include forced displacement resulting in the creation of refugees and internal displaced persons; labour migration, including the feminisation of such migration; people smuggling and trafficking; and the securitisation of migration, particularly in Western states.