Still a World in Motion? Migration and Displacement in Times of Pandemic and Nationalism
Migration is one of the most salient and politically polarizing issues in the world today. We have been living in an “age of mobility,” with more people living outside of their country of birth than ever before. In 2020 there were around 281 million international migrants; and the growth of migration has been significantly outpacing population growth over the past 50 years. The multiple connections generated by migration span “home,” “host,” and transit societies, creating linkages that crisscross the globe and present a host of challenges and opportunities for policymakers and politicians. However, immigration nearly ground to a halt with the COVID-19 pandemic, at least temporarily altering global mobility. This course will examine the social, economic, and political causes and consequences of global mobility, while considering whether changes brought by the pandemic, resurgent nationalism, or other factors might bring enduring changes to the global migration regime. We will draw on social scientific research on migration to answer questions about why people migrate, how states respond, and how these movements change politics and society in home, host, and transit countries, and to thus facilitate more informed policy choices.
Syllabus forthcoming
About the Instructor: Professor Michael Danielson has taught at UCDC since 2014. He is also a Research Fellow at the American University Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and has taught courses in Latin American politics at various universities in Washington, DC. His book Emigrants Get Political: Mexican Migrants Engage Their Home Towns (Oxford 2018) examines the ways in which Mexican migrants engage with and shape the politics of their home towns. He has also studied the politics of indigenous rights movements in Latin America and am co-editor of Latin America’s Multicultural Movements and the Struggle Between Communitarianism, Autonomy, and Human Rights (Oxford 2013). My current research includes projects on the climate–migration nexus, migration and refugee studies, violent democracies in Mexico and Central America, and migrant mayors. When not teaching, I work as an expert consultant on social science research methodology, migration and displacement, and Latin American politics and society. Additionally, I regularly serve as an expert witness on country conditions in Mexico and Honduras in US immigration courts. I am a political scientist by training (PhD 2013, American University) with training in comparative and international politics and hold an MA in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) and Spanish and Philosophy degrees from Santa Clara University.
