Social Transformation in Global Migration - Essay Example

? Please chose one of the questions below in the order instruction box Introduction: Social Transformation in global migration Migration can be defined as a process through which the humans move from one place to another or from one country to another as international shift in their place of habitat. The people move from one country to another mainly in large group or also in smaller groups. The people who shift their place of habitat are said to migrate and they are called immigrants. There may be several causes that that lead to the activities of migration. The reasons for the movement of people for one country to another may be due to the search of livelihood, political disturbance and hostile living conditions in the home country, natural calamities, etc. The perspective towards migration puts forward an impression of a dominant problem due to the complexities involved in the process, variability, interconnectedness and the mediations and interventions involves in this process of global change. The migration phenomenon is kept isolated from the broader relationships of the society which increase the complexity of that process of global change. The scope of social transformation in the context of migration is very high. This could be realised through the generalisation of migration process with the activities of contemporary society. The transfer of people from one country to another transforms the social, economic, cultural perspective of the society which could be understood with the help of an open discussion on the prospects of social transformation in migration. Pattern of global migration The patterns of global migration vary from time to time according to the development of the international politics, economy and shift in international power between various countries. The activities of migration may be voluntary as well as involuntary. The pattern of voluntary migration takes place when groups of people leave their home country in search for a better place of livelihood. This happens due to the difference in the rate of economic growth between countries. Thus the talent pool of the under developed countries moves out to the developing or developed countries voluntarily. This form of migration reduces the scope of conflict as there is a mutual interest between the immigrants and the institution of the countries to which they migrate. The other form of migration is involuntary in which the people of a country are force to leave their land in search of another due to the political disturbances, hostile living conditions, natural calamities, wars, etc. In such cases, the possibility of conflict between the indigenous people and the immigrants are much higher as they are treated as external to the country. The entry of new culture, beliefs, ideologies and knowledge creates the path of social transformation in those countries. Social transformation perspective in migration The social transformation perspective in the process of migration provided strong support to the mobility of human races across international boundaries that bring about changes in the social, economic, political and technological environment in the economies of various countries all over the world. This in turn fosters the process of globalization and provides benefits to the immigrants as well as the indigenous people. The trend of global changes due to the migration of people from one country to another could be explained from the perspective of social transformation in the field of migration. The social transformation is, therefore, viewed as the way in which the societies undergo a shift from their existing trend of social, political, economic and technological path due to the inflow of immigrants and the exchange of foreign resources with the indigenous people. The existing ways of life in the social, economic, political, religious, cultural domain are being questioned and discussed in order to find answers that could lead to the overall development of the country. The social transformation endorses the factors of changes in the rapidly changing world economy and the social environment and leads to the path of sustainable development of the various economies. The social transformation could be visualised in the context of migration as it gives rise to the fragmentation of the societies, the new social identities of the people who have migrated from their country to another country. The social transformation also takes place in the changing pattern of livelihood that stimulates the economy of the country to rapid growth (Skeldon, 1997, p.24). Migration theory and concept The migration theory suggest that the sources of livelihood and the differential wage rates are not the only factors that causes movements of migration from one part of the world to another. The consideration of the employment opportunities and the differential wage rates as the only reason behind migration could be cancelled with the view that the developed countries also seek talents from weaker economies despite being economically superior and absences of free flow of migrated talent. The push and pull mechanism that describes the concepts of migration indicates other factors like threat of existence, deprivation, risk and benefits and influence of the ideologies of the place of migration. The process of migration could be conceptualised by understanding the need of migration of the people in order to reduce the threat of existence which may arise due to unforeseen development of hostile conditions, political disturbance, wars, natural calamities, etc. The decision for migration is an inclusive decision taken by the households and not the individuals. The comparison of wages with that of the other households and a sense of deprivation may lead to informed decision on the activity of migration. The potential benefits and the associated risks as a result of migration are also taken into account. The ideologies of globalization and the reliability on the social and cultural practices of the country influence the process of migration. Prospects of social transformation in the general migration theory The prospects of the social transformation in the general migration theory could be viewed highly as the migration theory conceptualises the activities of migration not solely on the basis of the difference in the wages and the attraction of the sources of a better livelihood. The social transformation in the destination countries are likely to take place as the driving forces for the people of the country of origin to migrate to other parts of the world also takes into account the social and cultural needs for a safe and dignified existence. These needs are accompanied by the financial needs that are required to sustain the economic status of the households. The prospects of social transformation is embedded in the general migration theory as the mobility of the human population from their countries of origin to the regions of destination leads to transmission of social and cultural values, economic habits, political opinion, technological knowledge, religious beliefs and ideologies, etc. Since the people have migrated with the need of finding a place that would offer them a safe and dignified existence, they would have a strong urge of establishing their opinions, ideas and thoughts with the existing social, political and economic structure. Although there would conflict with the existing system, the development of social and cultural identity of the immigrants in the land would lead to the mixing of religious ideas, thoughts and cultural beliefs. The talent of the immigrants could be utilized to the best potential in order to attain improvements in productivity. There would be modifications in the occupational activities and the entire socio-economic and cultural institutions would undergo restructuring and transformation as a result of migration. Role of state: social transformation in migration The state has an important role to play in migration of people from one country to another and the subsequent social transformation in the process. The social transformation due to the mobility of a group of people is destined and needs to be supported by the state for the welfare of its socio-economic conditions. The displaced section of people in case of involuntary migration should be offered refuge by the state and sufficient emergency support needs to be provided to them. In case of voluntary migration, the state plays the role of providing them with the social identity. The support of the state would lead to wider acceptance of the immigrants in society and this would pave the path of harmony in case of differences in opinion, ideologies, cultural beliefs, etc. This would contribute to the process of social transformation whose benefits could be derived by the state through the process of immigration. Conclusion The process of migration leads to the movement of large or small groups of people from one country to another in search of various needs for living a safe and dignified life. The migration theories suggest that it is not only the economic advantages that drive the forces of migration. The immigrants also look for a safe and dignified existence which they envisage before migrating from their place of origin. It is the role of the state to ensure that the immigrants are granted social identity. The social ideologies and cultural beliefs, technological advancements, economic developments through improvements in the productivity takes place as a result of the mixture between the existing system and the inputs of the immigrants. This paves the path of social transformation which has huge prospects in the context of immigration. Reference Skeldon, R. 1997. Migration and Development: A Global Perspective. Harlow, Essex: Addison Wesley Longman. Read More