ABSTRACT
In the opening chapter I suggested that one of my concerns is to locate particular episodes of migrant mass exodus in the broader migratory dispensation: are such episodes merely passing events, or do they represent significant changes in migration patterns? These questions lead to a further set of issues. What is the relationship between changes in migration and other changes in the political economy? Under what circumstances are changes in the political economy accompanied by changes in migration; why do some changes in the political economy lead to changes in migration, but not others? Why do changes in migration take an acute form in some cases but not in others? Finally, and not least, how do these changes shape - and how are they shaped by - the migrant communities they embrace?
