The ‘Liberal Paradox’ and the Migration State

• In Event: Migration States in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The most basic function of the modern state, providing security for the territory, the population, and the government has not changed much since the creation of the garrison state and the evolution of the Westphalian system of nation-states in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw the rise of what Richard Rosecrance called the trading state, where economic considerations (free trade and a stable international monetary system) often take precedence over crude power maximization.  The latter half of the twentieth century has given rise to the migration state, where states are constrained by ‘embedded liberalism’ and rights-based politics.  In this paper, I argue that from a strategic, economic and demographic standpoint, trade and migration go hand in hand.  The wealth, power and stability of the state is now more than ever dependent on its willingness to risk both trade and migration; and international security and stability are dependent on the capacity of states to manage migration.

How do migrant-receiving countries manage migration and does ‘regime type’ matter?  Economic forces push states towards greater openness while security concerns and powerful political forces push them toward closure.  Migration states are trapped in what I call a “liberal” paradox—in order to maintain a competitive advantage, they must keep their economies and societies open to trade, investment, and migration. Unlike goods and capital, the movement of people involves greater political risks.  Migration is largely a function of market forces and social networks, but to manage migration states must be willing to accept immigration and grant rights to outsiders.  In liberal democracies, rights are the key to managing migration.  But does this argument apply to non-liberal states?  Is there a tradeoff between markets and rights and does regime type matter in managing migration?

Author

• James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University