In memory of Stephen Castles: Studying migration as part of social transformation
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Author | Derya Ozkul |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13102 |
COMMENTARY
In memory of Stephen Castles: Studying migration
as part of social transformation
Derya Ozkul
Department of International Development, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Correspondence
Derya Ozkul, Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Email: derya.ozkul@qeh.ox.ac.uk
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13102
Received: 23 November 2022 Accepted: 27 November 2022
307
Stephen Castles' scholarship examines the dynamics of international migration, always in relation to broader trends in
the political economy of the countries and regions in concern. In this short piece, I reflect on his scholarship, particu-
larly since the 2000s and 2010s—a period I had the chance to work with him. Throughout the 2000s, Stephen Castles
worked at the University of Oxford, as the Director of the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), and later as the Director of
the International Migration Institute (IMI). These were also the years he started advocating to study (forced) migra-
tion as not a standalone subject but as part of broader processes of social transformation. He (Castles, 2015, 4)
conceptualized social transformation as ‘[a] shift in social relationships so profound that it affects virtually all forms of
social interaction, and all individuals and communities simultaneously.’
In this conceptualization, he was deeply influenced by Karl Polanyi's famous book, The Great Transformation.
Polanyi argued that market liberalism, dominant in industrial countries of the 18th and 19th centuries, was based on
the idea of a self-regulating economy, which was ‘disembedded’ from other aspects of society. When the economy
was ‘disembedded’ from society, Polanyi claimed, society would create a ‘double movement’ against the impact of the
self-regulating economy. This double movement, he observed, did not always take one path. In some cases, it led to
the strengthening of social democracy with the formation of labour unions. In contrast, in others, it led to the emer-
gence of fascist movements promoting the dominance of a particular constructed race. These double movements
were the society's attempts to protect itself from the negative impacts of the economy overruling it. Polanyi argued,
therefore, that an economy should always be built not over a social organization but as part of it to achieve its social
and moral objectives.
Stephen Castles' understanding of social transformation was significantly influenced by Polanyi's theoretical
framework (see Castles et al., 2011). In a similar vein to Polanyi, Castles saw economic policies as having a direct
impact on social change. For example, a significant change in the way the economy was organized, he agreed, would
have far-reaching consequences for every aspect of society, including social relationships, culture, and politics. Build-
ing on social theory, in his work published at the turn of the millennium (Castles, 2001, 2003), he argued that social
transformation should be studied holistically, focusing on transnational processes and exploring social change within
and across global, national and local levels. To this end, he promoted the establishment of international and interdis-
ciplinary research networks in which all parties could participate in the research process as equal partners.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2022 The Authors. International Migration published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Organization for Migration.
Int Migr. 2023;61:307–310. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
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