Human migration is perhaps the most pressing political problématique of the 21
st
Century. In many countries, publics and elites alike consistently rank immigration as one of
the most important political problems facing the nation (Lahav, 1997). Not only does
immigration re-shape politics in its own right, but immigration also intersects with other
pressing issues of the era: security, terrorism and globalization. Globalization is not only
about flows of capital, goods and services across borders, but also about human flows. And
in an insecure world, states and publics tend to view these flows as threats, rather than
opportunities, despite the huge gains in economic prosperity generated by immigration
(Simon, 1989; Rudolph, 2003).
Despite a long-term trend of possible convergence towards increased similarity in
immigration policies in the developed world, important policy differences still exist across
countries and across time (Cornelius, Martin and Hollifield, 1994). Some developed
countries, such as Ireland and Spain, have only recently become destinations for migrants and
are still adjusting to the political realities caused by foreign-looking faces on the streets.
Other countries are attempting to chart a unique course vis-à-vis immigration, such as Japan’s
insistence on ethnic purity, the United States’ Green Card ‘lottery’, or Canada’s points
system, which awards special status to immigrants who can invest money or provide much-
needed skills.
Occasionally, there is cross-party consensus on major immigration policy platforms.
However, immigration has become more and more politicized in recent decades, in that
political parties are staking out divergent preferences on how to handle immigration.
these preferences actually matter in determining policy outcomes? (i.e. how restrictive a
country’s immigration policy is). Or do structural factors, such as economics, induce
immigration policy outcomes, regardless of national particularities or party politics? Perhaps
political ideology pushes policymakers on the Left to seek out immigrants as potential voters,
or goads parties of the Right to appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment. Alternatively, all
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Convention