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BRILL Comparative Sociology
12
(2013)289-297 .
brill.com/coso
Book Reviews
Steiner, Nikiaus,
2009,
International
Migration
and
Citizenship
Today.
Lon-
don
& New
York:
Routledge,
160pp.,
ISBN
978-0415772983,
$130.00 (hb)
This book offers an overview of the contemporary immigration debates
taking
place
in
developed,
or in
Steiner's
term,
"wealthier"
countries.
Steiner
mentions two essential issues that form the framework of the book: the
criteria to be used to admit immigrants and to grant citizenship to those
admitted. He indicates that his major aim is to generate thoughtful discus-
sion on immigration issues that have no easy answers. Steiner acknowl-
edges the complexity of the matter and by juxtaposing arguments offered
by different camps he aims to pave the way for a more holistic approach.
International
Migration
and
Citizenship Today
is
composed of three main
parts dealing with immigrants, refugees, and the issue of citizenship. The
first part examines different types of immigrants (high-skilled, low-skilled,
guest
worker,
student), state policies that aim to control immigration (bor-
der control, deportation, discouragement, employer sanctions) and the
impact of immigration on political, economic, and cultural spheres primar-
ily in
receiving
societies
and
to a
lesser extent
in
sending
ones.
While Steiner
provides his readers with a detailed and updated account of the current
situation
in
Western developed countries, he seems to give too much credit
to
US
and Europe for their adherence to democratic values when it comes
to dealing with immigrants. For instance, he criticises Gulf States, which
have no concern for democratic values, for their harsh treatment of their
guest workers without offering a single word on how liberal democracies
handled their guest-workers thirty-forty years ago. He also does not prob-
lematise the current situation regarding irregular migrants. He does not
discuss how Western democracies' treatment of irregular migrants,
who
are
shot to death, abandoned on a boat in the middle of
a
sea, or left to perish
at the state borders, coincides with the core values of
liberal
democracy.
In the second part, Steiner focuses on refugees who hold a special posi-
tion vis-à-vis immigrants: they do not migrate voluntarily. He discusses the
© Koninklijki; Brill NV, Uidcn, 2013 1501:10.1163/156913312X619517
290 Book Reviews / Comparative Sociology
12 (2013)
28g-2g/
definition of the term refugee, the situation during and after the Cold War
and alternative state policies
to
asylum (such as temporal protection, finan-
cial support, and repatriation). Steiner defines immigration as a voluntary
movement motivated by economic
gains,
whereas he defines asylum-seek-
ing as
an involuntary movement motivated
by
survival.
However, in
a
global
world where almost all economies are connected, deteriorating economic
conditions may also force people to take action and move to another coun-
try.
While
Steiner touches upon the issue of expanding the definition of the
term refugee, what he really discusses
is
the expansion of the boundaries
of
the term persecution rather than the disappearance of clear-cut distinc-
tions between the categories of immigrants and refugees. One of the most
important issues mentioned in this section is the reluctance of Western
countries
to
admit refugees despite the fact that poorer countries host more
refijgees than Western democracies
do.
Although he does not overtly criti-
cise this Western hypocrisy (he chooses to call it irony instead), Steiner
presents a chart, which clearly displays that there is no single Western
country in the top
20
list of refugee-hosting states
(p.
76).
In
the third
section,
Steiner
first
focuses
on
concepts such
as
state,
nation,
nationalism and their relationship with the notion of citizenship.
He
exam-
ines the difference between legal and identity citizenships and discusses
the problem of creating unity and harmony within society while at the
same time respecting cultural differences of
minorities.
Steiner later moves
on to explore ways of acquiring citizenship including the process of natu-
ralisation. Based on his own experiences, he discusses the process of natu-
ralisation in the United
States.
While this section offers rich and thorough
information regarding current citizenship debates, it fails to discuss the
issue of dual citizenship, which complicates and transforms the conven-
tional definition of citizenship.
In the concluding chapter, Steiner argues that the development of a
holistic approach is imperative in order to
fijlly
understand the nature of
current population movements. In today's interconnected world, policies
that address political, economic, environmental, as well as other develop-
ments taking place in both sending and receiving countries need to be
adopted. According to Steiner, reducing international migration could only
happen by generating policies that would create suitable environments in
sending countries that would motivate people to stay. He discusses five
areas that should be taken into consideration in order to manage popula-
Book Reviews / Comparative Sociology
12 (2013)
289-297 291
tion movements better in the future. These areas include demographic
shifts,
alignment of labour supply and demand, danger of marginalisation,
rights of citizens and open immigration opportunities. Despite its few
shortfalls this book offers a rich overview of current immigration debates
where questions that have complicated answers are asked and arguments
from different perspectives are discussed. It would serve as a beneficial
introductory guide for those who are new to the field of immigration
studies.
Zeynep Selen Artan
The Graduate Center,
City University of New York
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