A Call for a Unified Theoretical Approach to the Study of Migration: Network Analysis of International Migration Systems/Goc Calismalari Icin Birlesik Teorik Yaklasim Onerisi: Uluslararasi Goc Sistemlerinin Ag Analizi.

• Author: VandenBelt, Kristin

About international migration theory, there are only two things upon which most scholars can agree: the need for a multidisciplinary approach and the weak theoretical base upon which migration studies stand. (1) Michael Bommes and Ewa Morawska explain that the "study of international migration 'naturally' transcends disciplinary divisions and cannot be accomplished comprehensively within a single scholarly discipline such as law, politics, economics, linguistics, or education." (2) Yet, other scholars posit the reason for this theoretical weakness to be that there are "only a fragmented set of theories that have developed largely in isolation from one another--sometimes, but not always, separated by disciplinary boundaries." (3) The fundamental problem facing migration scholars, therefore, is how to reconcile these two opposing forces. But in their attempts at reconciliation, scholars face a hard road, littered with potential mine-fields: the differing levels and units of analysis across theories; the differing areas of focus (dependent variable) across disciplines; disagreements over the very meaning of multidisciplinary; and diverging opinions on whether a comprehensive, "grand" theory of international immigration is wise, or even possible. (4) However, the trend in the field of migration studies has been toward increasingly broader conceptual frameworks, (5) seemingly moving in the direction of a "comprehensive, empirically grounded theory of international migration." (6)

This movement is largely the result of increasing awareness within the field of migration studies that without the coherent framework that (commonly accepted) theory provides along with agreed upon concepts, tools and standards, the cumulation of knowledge cannot take place. (7) As academic, scholarly research is about producing a body of knowledge that enhances our understanding of the phenomena of interest (8) with the ultimate goal of cumulation - building upon previous work to increase knowledge and understanding (9)--then, if the study of international migration is to advance, it needs a cumulative sequence of work that builds upon previous contributions. (10) And it is in this area that the current article attempts to make a contribution, by proposing a theoretical framework that can serve as the basis for future studies of international immigration--a "commonly accepted theoretical framework" (11)--leading, ultimately, to a cumulative body of knowledge of international migration.

The theoretical framework proposed in this study--network analysis of international migration systems (to be referred to from now on as NAIMS)--will be explained in detail in the theoretical framework section later on, but, briefly, NAIMS represents an improvement over existing migration theory and can serve as a theoretical framework for the discipline for two main reasons: 1) It begins with "the model used by most immigration scholars," (12) network theory. As Arango explains, "Few things, if any, are as characteristic of the contemporary way of looking into migration as the central attention accorded to migration networks." (13) The existing "nearly unanimous support" within the scholarly community of the migration network concept makes it much more likely that the modified network analysis proposed here will gain acceptance within the scholarly community. (14) 2) Incorporating the highly compatible international migration systems approach into network analysis serves to address the key theoretical weaknesses from which network analysis suffers (15) while also making it "applicable to all migration types" and, therefore, making it applicable across academic disciplines. (16)

But, before getting into the details of the NAIMS approach, a brief look at the existing theoretical approaches to the study of migration is necessary. The paper will then examine the weaknesses of those approaches and why the study of migration deserves a new unified theoretical approach. The NAIMS approach will then be explained in detail followed by a discussion of how it improves upon existing theoretical approaches. Finally, the paper will conclude with a look at possible international migration systems and areas of knowledge that can be built upon using the NAIMS approach moving forward.

Theoretical Approaches to Migration

Modern theoretical approaches to migration fall into two broad categories: those explaining the initiation of migration, and those explaining the perpetuation of migration. (17)

While initiation theories such as the neoclassical economic theory of migration, the new economics of labor migration, dual labor market theory, and world systems are useful and important theories, for the purposes of this article, the focus will be on those theories attempting to explain the perpetuation of migration. The conditions that initiate international migration flows are often quite different from those that perpetuate them across time and space. Although "wage differentials, relative risks, recruitment efforts, and market penetration may continue to cause people to move, new conditions that arise in the course of migration come to function as independent causes themselves" so that each act of migration makes further migration more likely. (18) And since the perpetuation of migration involves new independent causes, it also requires new theories to explain the phenomenon. The 'perpetuation of migration' category includes transnational theory, network theory and the international migration systems approach. Unfortunately, transnationalism suffers from issues like "conceptual muddiness," which is exacerbated by the insistence of some scholars on using terms like transmigrant to identify those individuals who participate in migration-based transnational communities. Such terms do not lend themselves to precise definitions and there is considerable debate about when and how (and if) it should be utilized. (19) Transnationalism studies face an even more significant challenge in that many question the importance of and/or need for transnational studies of migration. (20) Which brings us back to the most common and widely accepted theoretical approach to migration

Rooted in sociology and anthropology, network theory seeks to "provide a basis for dialogue across social science disciplines." (21) Network theory argues, briefly, that the creation of migration networks between sending and receiving areas will vastly increase migration flows between those areas and maintain those flows over time, as migration networks act as intermediaries that facilitate migration. Given that migration networks constitute an intermediate, relational level between the macro and micro, they can illuminate the connections between the two levels and "the incorporation of networks into theoretical and empirical analyses provides a means of articulating agency and structure and reconciling the functional and structural perspectives." (22) Network theory's incorporation of a sociological element and networks' intermediate/connecting position represent an improvement over previous approaches and theories of international migration.

The sociological dimension introduced to the study of international migration comes from network theory's basis in social capital theory, which helped network theory to improve upon "the mechanical and economistic "push and pull" conceptions that prevailed earlier." (23) Social capital theory conceptualizes social capital as a productive and fungible resource that "inheres in the structure of relations between actors and among actors" and that rational actors can draw upon to achieve their goals. (24) It includes "personal relationships, family and household patterns, friendship and community ties, and mutual help in economic and social matters" (25) and is "the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition." (26) These durable networks are referred to as social networks, upon which the migration network is built. In addition to being derived from social networks, migration networks can be seen to constitute a form of social capital that people can draw upon to gain access to goods of economic significance, such as foreign employment or higher wages. (27) Migration networks, which Massey, et al. conceptualize as "sets of interpersonal ties that connect migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in origin and destination areas through ties of kinship, friendship, and shared community origin," (28) develop out of these social networks as individuals and groups begin to draw on the social capital inherent in these networks. They exploit the social relationships of kinship, friendship, community, etc. in order to support migration. (29)

Migrants are able to do this, and thereby increase the likelihood of migration, by taking advantage of another form of social capital, the information-flow capability. Potential migrants are able to call upon their family/kinship relationship with those who have already migrated in order to receive information and assistance in the migration process. Charles Tilly even claims that "the vast majority of potential long-distance migrants anywhere in the world draw their chief information for migration decisions (including the decision to stay put) from members of their interpersonal networks." (30) Migrant networks also assist with functions like providing job information and contacts with gatekeepers, funds for transportation and other fees, and other resources, like temporary housing, to buffer migrants from the "costs and disruptions of migration." (31) This illustrates the reciprocal nature of the migrant-migrant network relationship, for the migrant's very decision to migrate expanded the migration network upon which that same migrant now relies, "migrations forge networks...