ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a theoretical and methodological framework to unravel the nature of contemporary migration under neoliberal globalisation and its relationship with development. Its main aim is to critically address some key dimensions of the relationship between migration and development, with particular emphasis on the deconstruction of the dominant or hegemonic discourse in the field. The first section offers a conceptual framework for understanding such a relationship from a Marxist political economy perspective. The second section offers a brief characterisation of migration in the context of contemporary capitalism, viewing it essentially as forced population displacement. The third section analyses the current debate in the field between the dominant perspective based on the principles and postulates of the neoliberal school of thought, and what is conceptualised as a counter-hegemonic or Southern perspective. Rather than a simple negation of the dominant perspective, the latter implies a negation of the negation in dialectical terms, with the aim of building a comprehensive, inclusive, emancipatory, and libertarian approach to the nexus between migration and development. Finally, a brief reference is made to the efforts to build an institutional framework for the global governance of migration.
