Introduction to International Migration Policy

This course introduces students to international migration as an object of policy studies, various aspects of international migration as a social phenomenon, and policies designed to encourage, discourage, or otherwise affect the flow of people across national borders. Among the issues and aspects of international migration to be addressed in the course are: economic development; labor migration; human trafficking; gender; public health; demography and development; environmentally-driven migration; national and human security; refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs); cultural and other issues of integration at migration destination. The course will also introduce students to international laws and other norms and frameworks pertaining to international migration and migrants, as well as international organizations and non-governmental organizations actively involved with international migration issues. A comprehensive understanding of these issues requires a multidisciplinary approach encompassing political science, sociology, economics, demography, language and area studies, environmental studies, and security studies. Illustrative examples of problems of migration, migrants, and policy responses will be drawn from various parts of the world. Students will develop skills in analyzing a variety of policy-relevant issues, including but not limited to: demographic, social, economic, political, and security factors in the migration process; dynamics of and policy responses to forced migration, the effectiveness of legal and policy instruments to regulate international migration, and national and human security implications migration across national borders.