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‘Keeping Them in Their Place’: the ambivalent relationship between development and migration in Africa

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  • Oliver Bakewell

Abstract

While there has been an explosion of academic and practitioner interest in the relationship between migration and development in the past decade, this article poses the neglected question of what is meant by development in this literature. It focuses on the ideas of development underpinning development interventions across Africa and shows how they have sedentary roots which are focused on the control of mobility and tend to cast migration as a symptom of development failure. This can be seen in the ongoing ambivalence of many development actors towards migration across Africa. The article argues that the current initiatives to link migration and development will remain fundamentally flawed until the concept of development is reconceptualised for a mobile world. In particular, it calls for the reconsideration of the ideas of the good life envisaged in development initiatives, moving beyond models of development based on the nation-state and abandoning the paternalist paradigms that fail to recognise the agency of migrants from poor countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver Bakewell, 2008. "‘Keeping Them in Their Place’: the ambivalent relationship between development and migration in Africa," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 1341-1358.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:29:y:2008:i:7:p:1341-1358
    DOI: 10.1080/01436590802386492
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    Cited by:

    1. Bangkim Biswas & Bishawjit Mallick, 2021. "Livelihood diversification as key to long-term non-migration: evidence from coastal Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8924-8948, June.
    2. Elena Vitalievna, Lebedeva, 2018. "Forced Migration: Trends and Future Directions Overview of Current Developments," MPRA Paper 106600, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    3. Müller-Funk, Lea & Fröhlich, Christiane & Bank, André, 2020. "State(s) of negotiation: Drivers of forced migration governance in most of the world," GIGA Working Papers 323, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    4. Nathan Lauwers & Jan Orbie & Sarah Delputte, 2021. "The Politicization of the Migration–Development Nexus: Parliamentary Discourse on the European Union Trust Fund on Migration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 72-90, January.
    5. Zakiyyah, Varachia, 2019. "Overview of Current Trends and Future Directions of Forced Migration," MPRA Paper 106457, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2019.
    6. Dessalegn, Mengistu & Debevec, L. & Nicol, Alan & Ludi, E., 2023. "A critical examination of rural out-migration studies in Ethiopia: considering impacts on agriculture in the sending communities," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 12(1):176.(.
    7. Newman, Anneke, 2019. "The influence of migration on the educational aspirations of young men in northern Senegal: Implications for policy," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 216-226.
    8. Hackl, Andreas, 2018. "Mobility equity in a globalized world: Reducing inequalities in the sustainable development agenda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 150-162.
    9. Ben Page & Claire Mercer, 2012. "Why do people do stuff? Reconceptualizing remittance behaviour in diaspora-development research and policy," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Mengistu Dessalegn & Liza Debevec & Alan Nicol & Eva Ludi, 2023. "A Critical Examination of Rural Out-Migration Studies in Ethiopia: Considering Impacts on Agriculture in the Sending Communities," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Cindy Horst & Anab Ibrahim Nur, 2016. "Governing Mobility through Humanitarianism in Somalia: Compromising Protection for the Sake of Return," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 542-562, May.
    12. Akasaka, Shintaro, 2017. "Forced Migration: Overview of Current Trends and Future Directions," MPRA Paper 106362, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    13. Binhan Elif, Yilmaz, 2019. "Trends and Future Directions of Forced Migration," MPRA Paper 106532, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2019.
    14. Kerilyn Schewel & Sonja Fransen, 2018. "Formal Education and Migration Aspirations in Ethiopia," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 44(3), pages 555-587, September.

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