INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Int. J. Popul. Geogr. 8, 429±432 (2002)
Book Reviews
Book Reviews Editor: Dr John Stillwell
THE TURBULENCE OF MIGRATION: GLOBAL- globalisation process in a political economy per-
IZATION, DETERRITORIALIZATION AND spective, without, however, ignoring its cultural
HYBRIDITY by Nikos Papastergiadis. Oxford, aspects and effects. He critically discusses some of
Polity Press, 2000. No. of pages: 256. price: £50.00 the key debates related to the `twin processes' of
(hardback), £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 745 61430 2, globalisation and migration, such as the discussion
0 745 614310. on the future of the nation-state, the global cities
debate and the theory of the `third identity'. The
Contemporary global migration, probably one of deterritorialisation of culture is at the centre of the
the most visible faces of globalisation, has stimu- analysis, as, in the age of globalisation, `cultural
lated an interesting and broad theoretical discus- boundaries and formations have been radically
sion in both academic and political circles. Nikos displaced and recon®gured' and `people now feel to
Papastergiadis enters this debate with a rich belong to various communities despite the fact that
theoretical background in key sociological and they do not share a common territory with all the
philosophical concepts, such as culture, identity other members'.
and community, which he attempts to relate to the Based on his arguments of the dynamic and ¯uid
theory of global migration. By introducing the character of culture and identity, the author
recent analytical concepts of hybridity and deterri- investigates the `processes by which cultural differ-
torialisation, he aims to overcome the limits of ences are internalized and understood' by re¯ecting
traditional social science and to underline the on the notion of cultural translation and by
central role global migration currently plays in the introducing the concept of hybridity. Cultures and
shaping of contemporary societies. He outlines the identities are hybrid, in a state of `endless search',
qualitatively new characteristics of the migration constant interaction and transformation. Commu-
phenomenon in the age of globalisation, by stres- nities are also hybrid and deterritorialised, since
sing the multidirectional trajectories of current their `concentric and territorial construction has
global migratory ¯ows, the variations in the identity been dramatically altered by the technological
of migrants, the shifts in migration politics and the advances in communication and the multidirec-
ongoing character of the migration process. He tional migrations of globalization'. In this perspec-
borrows the term turbulence from physics to tive, Papastergiadis develops the concept of
describe the nature of human mobility in a cultural clusters, as alternative spaces, circuits or
constantly ¯uid world, composed of contradictory networks of cultural exchange. Finally, he proposes
but interconnected and interacting forces, and that the idea and the politics of multiculturalism,
characterised by continuous circulation of capital, despite its relative but limited success, needs to be
goods, services, information, signs and people. re-examined in the light of the three key concepts of
The book is divided into nine chapters. After a the book, globalisation, deterritorialisation and
presentation of his main arguments, his basic aims hybridity, in order to overcome its limitations.
and his key concepts, Papastergiadis offers us a Papastergiadis is on the whole successful in
historical and geographical mapping of global meeting his aims. He is convincing in arguing
migration. He is critical of the mechanistic theore- about the turbulent nature of contemporary global
tical paradigms which were dominant in the past Ð migration, its connection to the process of globali-
the voluntaristÐfunctionalistÐpush/pull perspec- sation and the important place of both processes in
tive, and the political economyÐstructuralistÐ the construction of culture, in the shaping of
centre/periphery approach Ð and he highlights communities and in identity formation. He is
the limitations of all `cause and effect' models in the probably right when he argues that globalisation,
new context of globalisation. On this basis, he migration and hybrid cultures `are producing
underlines the necessity for a `new general theory of spatial trajectories and identities that do not ®t in
migration' and the `need for alternative models for the classical models of the social sciences' and that
conceptualizing cultural exchange'. The discussion they challenge `the bounded frameworks which
then moves to the identity of the migrant, in an de®ned communities in terms of exclusion and
attempt to re-examine and rede®ne the relationship purity'.
between the stranger and the migrant within the His work can also be read as a useful textbook,
context of globalisation. Papastergiadis de®nes the which critically overviews the classical theories and
Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
430 Book Reviews
the more recent debates, presents a number of book even more interesting is his interdisciplinary
examples drawn out of a wide range of ®elds, and approach and the way he combines a wide range of
introduces the reader into interesting innovative concepts, theories and debates from various per-
concepts and ideas. However, according to the spectives and from a wide range of ®elds (literature
reviewer's opinion, the text becomes quite confus- and art criticism, philosophy, humanities, social
ing at some points, because the author emphasises and natural sciences) and successfully links them
too much the underlying concepts, which draws the with global migration. Perhaps this is the most
attention of the reader away from the central innovative contribution of his book.
discussion of migration. Furthermore, the insis-
tence on some new concepts may also appear
problematic, although they serve to facilitate the PANOS HATZIPROKOPIOU
conceptualisation of recent trends as qualitatively University of Sussex, UK
new developments. Yet many of the obscure points
are clari®ed in the conclusion, where Papastergia- Published online in Wiley InterScience
dis brings his key concepts together and sum- (www.interscience.wiley.com).
marises his arguments. Finally, what makes his DOI: 10.1002/ijpg.256
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION INTO THE 21ST formal retirement from university teaching, he was
CENTURY: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF REGINALD the editor of International Migration, improving the
APPLEYARD edited by M. A. B. Siddique. Edward status and quality of that journal.
Elgar, Cheltenham, 2001. No. of pages: xxi 321. The contributors to this hommage are themselves
Price: £59.95 (hardback). ISBN 1 84064 531 8. distinguished scholars, all of whom have known
Appleyard for some time and hold him in high
esteem. Each was asked to prepare a contribution
Festschrifts have been rare in migration studies; this which evaluated the nature and signi®cance of
volume is therefore of interest to see what issues its research in the last quarter of the twentieth century
contributors might address, given the freedom to in their own branch of migration studies, and which
choose. In other disciplines, such volumes are also looked forward to the emerging trends and
notorious for gathering together contributions challenges of the early twenty-®rst century. The
which have been rejected elsewhere. Such a cynical contributions are classi®ed into ®ve main areas
view certainly does not apply to this volume, whose identi®ed by Appleyard himself in an opening
genesis was carefully planned, with a built-in chapter as key themes for `international migration
review process amongst the authors ± each paper into the 21st century':
was assessed by two of the other contributors and
revised in the light of their reports. . the role and impact of changing economic trends
The book derives from a conference and discus- on the volume, direction and composition of
sion held at the end of 1999. Appropriately, the international migration, with particular reference
meeting was hosted at the University of Western to ageing and its implications;
Australia, Appleyard's working base for much of . illegal migration and traf®cking;
his career. An economic historian, Reginald Apple- . the politics of selection and control of migration;
yard occupies a prominent position in the ®eld of . return migration;
international migration. His main contributions, . refugee migration.
reviewed by Siddique in a brief biographical pre-
face, have been on British emigration to, and return Aside from the agenda-piece just mentioned, the
from, Australia (which include his famous `ship- book comprises 13 chapters. We have Tomas
board' studies); on the economic demography of Hammar on the politics of migration control and
Australia; and important work on migration and the politicisation of migration, Philip Martin on
development (including editing the four-volume economic integration and Mexico±US migration,
Emigration Dynamics in Developing Countries, 1998). Aderanti Adepoju on regional integration and
Towards the end of his career, indeed after his intra-regional migration in sub-Saharan Africa,
Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Popul. Geogr. 8, 429±432 (2002)
