Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents an overview of contemporary migration in West Africa, an evaluation of the concepts and perspectives used to analyze mobility in the region, a catalog of the various forms of migration in the past, and a detailed description of the National Migration Survey. It describes Burkinabe migration in two larger contexts, presenting first an overview of Burkinabe societies and their forms of social organization and then a survey of colonial policies designed to provoke migration in the twentieth century. The book examines the creation of the male migrant system and its evolution over two periods, 1900-1931 and 1932-1946. It aims to propose a new typology of migration and discusses, at the aggregate level, the significance of remittances for development and, at the individual level, how Burkinabe men and women assess the impact of migration on their lives.