THE PROGRESS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE GEOPOLITICS OF MIGRATION IN WESTERN GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
In the era of globalization,migrants are unneglectable forces that magnify,mediate,and modify geopolitics.In geographical literature,the geopolitics of migration has become an emerging field of study that critically juxtaposes migrants'experiences with geopolitical processes.By tracing the theoretical and em-pirical progress of the field,this article outlines the ontological and epistemological reflections that facilitate the ongoing dialogues between geopolitics and migration studies.It argues that:1)Ontologically,the geopoli-tics of migration stresses migration-related practices as the embodiment of geopolitical tensions and the en-meshment of geopolitical actors.This challenges the state-centered characterization of international relations,by politicalizing the territorialization and deterritorialization of human mobility.2)The geopolitics of migra-tion offers decentered,relational,and materialist epistemologies by harnessing postmodern theories such as feminism,biopolitics,and assemblage thinking.Then,this article maps four often-discussed themes of em-pirical concern,including refugees,borderwork,labors,and diasporas.By doing so,it illustrates how each theme enriches the documentation and theorization of geopolitical processes,mediations,and subjects from different angles.Zooming in on the themes allows an engagement of research with evolving migration gover-nance and geopolitical praxis.Lastly,this article suggests exploring more possible junctions of migration and geopolitics in previously neutralized interfaces between migration and nonhumans,technologies,and envi-ronment.
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
