Thammasat University students who are interested in sociology, demography, anthropology, social anthropology, political science, and related subjects may find a newly available book useful.

The Palgrave Handbook of South–South Migration and Inequality is an Open Access book, available for free download at this link:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-39814-8

The TU Library collection includes other books about different aspects of South–South migration.

The book is edited by Professor Heaven Crawley, who teaches international migration at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), the United Kingdom, where her research focuses on the lived experiences of refugees and migrants.

Her coeditor is Professor Joseph Kofi Teye, Director of the Office of Research, Innovation and Development of the University of Ghana.

Their book examines the fact that more people migrate from one country to another within the Global South than move from the Global South to the Global North.

The editors note in an introduction that in some places, almost all migration is to a neighboring country in the Global South.

According to World Bank statistics, migration between developing countries remains larger than migration from the South to high-income countries.

South–South migration is also increasing in absolute terms.

African countries hosted 24.7 million migrants in 2017, up from 19.3 million in 1990, a 28% increase.

Almost all these migrants were born somewhere else in Africa: despite perceptions to the contrary, more than 80% of African migrants do not leave the continent.

When combined with increasing border controls in Global North, it seems likely that intra-regional migration within Africa will continue to rise.

Within the Global South, Asia-to-Asia migration, especially that related to migration from slower-growing developing Asia to faster-growing developing Asia, is most significant.

It is estimated that 87% of the 21 million migrants who entered the Asian region between 1990 and 2013 originated from other countries in Asia.

South–South migration has a long history, albeit under differing economic and political conditions.

Although South–South migration has always involved large numbers of people, the nature of these flows has changed over time.

Historically, large scale migration South–South migration flows were mostly enforced and involuntary.

The forced migration of up to 14 million people as a result of the partition of India also represented a significant intra-regional flow.

Is South–South migration different from South–North migration or migration between the countries of the Global North?

Some researchers argue that South–South migrations have unique social, economic, and political features influenced by the distance of journeys; the nature of borders; the composition of migration flows; regional migration governance; and other factors.

Today, South–South migration tends to take place over shorter geographical distances – often within countries or across immediate borders.

This is mainly because the costs of migration are lower but also because of bilateral agreements between countries of the Global South.

One example is the open border between Nepal and India, through which thousands of Nepalis migrate each year for work.

Because of the open border agreement, Nepalis and Indians can move freely over the border, making it difficult to know how many Nepali migrants live and work in India at any time. Secondly, South–South migration is often irregular and those who move become undocumented, although this term can be misleading given that migration between countries, particularly neighboring countries, has effectively become regularized over time even if it remains informal. The absence of documentation and formal regulation of flows means that estimations of South–South migration are likely far lower than the reality.

The third specificity of South– South migration is the nature of borders. Borders in the Global South have historically been less restrictive in terms of migration, not least because of weaker border enforcement capacities. This is particularly the case for Africa.

Fourthly, it has been observed that there are differences in the average composition of South–South compared with South–North migration flows, with the former being characterised by lower skills and educational levels and generally of a younger age.

Low and middle-income countries in the Global South hosted 76% of the world’s refugees and other people in need of international protection in 2022, a figure which was for a long time more than 85%.

Finally, migration takes place in the context of family and community structures which are often more important to decision-making than in the Global North where these processes are often more individualistic. Religion and spirituality in varying forms are also likely to play a more significant role.

Focusing on South–South migration permits researchers to test theories of migration scholars about why people migrate, who migrates, where they choose to migrate to and why and how well or poorly they integrate into the destination country.

Studying South–South migration dynamics also allows us to re-consider and/or question the meaning and relevance of other social concepts and variables, and their relationship to other variables that have often emerged in a Northern context and were then uncritically transported into other contexts, for example, the nature of family/social networks, the role of religion and spirituality and the idea that migration might be a collective rather than individualized project.

International migration is a symbol of global inequality in wages, labor market opportunities, and lifestyles.

But the potential for migration to reduce inequality and contribute to development is neither straightforward nor inevitable.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, not everyone has access to the benefits of migration.

The ability to migrate, and the conditions under which migration takes place, often reflects and reinforces existing spatial, structural and social inequalities including those related to gender, nationality, race, age and income.

These inequalities determine who is and is not able to migrate and under what conditions, as well as where people move to and the rights and the resources that they are able to access. Importantly, migration can increase as well as reduce inequality.

For example, income inequalities in countries of origin can be expected to increase with international migration, particularly for the most marginalized groups in society, for example, women.

This is because the poorest of the poor seldom have the financial means to migrate.

Increased barriers to migration, irregular and dangerous journeys, poor labor conditions, and a lack of rights for migrants and their families can create new inequalities.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)