ABSTRACT
Migration – as the movement of people from one location to another with the aim of settling in the place of their destination – is possibly as old as humankind itself. The nature and causes of migration evolved tremendously over the course of human history. While some causes such as resource scarcity, climate change, and conflict persist to this date, globalisation of economies has generated new ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that drive contemporary migration. As a result of the engagements between societies, economies, and cultures from human movement across geographical spaces, the study of contemporary migration is inextricably related to the questions of identity, social and cultural integration, and diversity. This chapter maps the core issues related to the causes and outcomes of migration, relates them to the cultural and political construction of nations and states through the notion of citizenship, and discusses the meaning of ‘post-national’ membership. In so doing, it highlights how international migration has reconceptualised the notions of membership and belonging, which are no longer confined to territorial borders of nation-states and no longer representative of single and singular cultural communities.
