Institute for History Annual Report 2010 - O - Universiteit Leiden

Migration and Global Interdependence
Description
An important current topic of historical research is
the global interdependence that came about since
the Early Modern period. The widening,
deepening and acceleration of worldwide interconnectedness
is known as globalisation. This
affects all aspects of social life, from the cultural to
the criminal, the financial to the spiritual. In this
research theme we focus on the social and
economic responses to increasing interconnectedness.
Globalisation has many dimensions and can be
studied by distinguishing between extensity,
intensity, velocity and impact. Key themes in this
research cluster are international contacts, interaction
and the effects of interdependencies on
society and economy. We distinguish between the
movement of goods, services, capital, people and
ideas. Geographical emphasis is on Europe and
the United States, but also on the Middle East,
Central Asia and Southeast Asia. What impact did
global connections have on cultures, state
formation, economies and societies? We examine
how people have coped with global interdependence
and how people attempted to control and
manage these processes. This includes the study of
individual (migration) and collective reactions
(institutions, states, EU, multinationals). The research
within this research theme can be divided
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into three sub-themes: (a) migration, membership
regimes and cities; (b) state formation and
frontiers; (c) political economy, networks, and the
role of institutions.
Migration, membership regimes and cities
Research in the field of migration history includes
the mobility of people, settlement processes of
migrants, and, finally, the effects of migration on
state formation and the formation of minorities.
The migration theme is not restricted to a
particular period or region, although the focus is
on the period from the Middle Ages onwards. In
addition, we study the colonisations and conquests
in which the native population was forced
to adapt to the newcomers, resulting in processes
of extinction, marginalisation and creolisation. In
order to study migration the comparative method
(in time and space) is most appropriate. An important
issue is how migrants integrated in new
communities and the role of different political opportunity
structures in the outcome of such processes.
Here we use the new-institutionalist approach
as advocated by scholars as Richard Alba
and Victor Nee, which is well suited for global
comparisons of various membership regimes.
Within the migration theme special attention is
paid to differences according to gender. The
importance of gender, as an analytical category, is
studied in combination with class and ethnicity in
relation to migration to the Netherlands in the
period from 1945 until 2000.
Cities and Civil Service