Review by Choice Review
Based on extensive field work and interviews with stakeholders, this innovative work shifts the focus of the growing literature on migration from the policies of developed countries to those of governments in the Global South. Despite hosting tens of thousands of migrants as semi-permanent guests, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, and other similarly situated countries in the Global South are typically treated as "transit countries," places where migrants find temporary refuge on their way to their final destinations in Europe and North America. Consequently, little attention is paid to how these states approach migrants and what explains their policy choices. Over the decades these "transit countries" have become semipermanent homes for thousands of migrants who actively participate in the country's economic life despite their precarious legal position. Norman (Rice Univ.) develops the concept of "strategic indifference" to convincingly argue that policies that are often attributed to state weakness and lack of capacity are in reality the result of intentional strategic choices in response to domestic and international incentives and pressures. This easily accessible volume presents a sophisticated and nuanced theoretical argument and is a major contribution to the literature on migration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals. --Hootan Shambayati, Florida Gulf Coast University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
