Moving within Borders

William Ascher is Donald C. McKenna Professor of Government and Economics at Claremont McKenna College. His research focuses on poverty alleviation and sustainable development in all developing areas.

Shane Joshua Barter is Professor of Comparative Politics at Soka University of America. His research interests focus on separatist conflicts in Southeast Asia, civilian responses to war, conflict IDPs, and territorial autonomy. 

This book highlights the attention that policymakers, activists, and the public should pay to internal migration. Although prominent research has analyzed particular types of internal migration, especially urbanization and internally displaced persons (IDPs), the narrow scope of existing studies cannot capture the overlaps of motivation and circumstances that pose serious policy dilemmas. The book is distinctive in examining the full range of modes and motives of internal migration: state-sponsored or unsponsored, coerced or voluntary, land-seeking or market-seeking, urban or rural, and so on. While approaching internal migration holistically, it also emphasizes how it is distinct from international migrations, especially the central role of the state, whose internal divisions and defensive reactions to challenges often play decisive roles in governing migration. The writing style is geared towards accessibility, making it appropriate for college- and graduate-level students as well as the broader public.

Chapter 1.Introduction.- Chapter 2. Understanding Internal Migration.- Part I Stakeholders: The State, Migrants, and Hosts. Chapter 3. The Primacy of the State.- Chapter 4. The Many Levels of the State.- Chapter 5. Sympathy for the State: Coping with Internal Migration.- Chapter 6. Migrants in Train: State-Initiated and Managed Migrations.- Chapter 7. Unsponsored Migrants: The Enterprising.- Chapter 8. Unsponsored Migrants: The Expelled.- Chapter 9. Room to Let? Host Community Perspectives.-Part II. What Can Go Wrong. Chapter 10. Migratory Deprivations.- Chapter 11.Migratory Conflicts: Sons of the Soil.-Chapter 12. State Failures.- Part III. What to Do About It. Chapter 13. State Accountability: Theory, Evasion, and Potential Remedies.- Chapter 14. State Responses and Best Practices.- Chapter 15. Societal Responses.- Chapter 16. The International Community.- Chapter 17. Lessons in Governing Internal Migration.