On social transformation, migration, and development
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Author | Raúl Delgado Wise |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13115 |
314 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig Int Migr. 2023;61:314–317.
COMMENTARY
On social transformation, migration, and
development
Raúl Delgado Wise
Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas Ringgold standard institution - Unidad Académica en Estudios del Desarrollo, Zacatecas,
Mexico
Correspondence
Raúl Delgado Wise, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas Ringgold standard institution - Unidad Académica en Estudios del
Desarrollo, Faroles 104, Zacatecas 98000, Mexico.
Email: rdwise@uaz.edu.mx
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13115
Received: 27 December 2022 Accepted: 27 December 2022
Among the many topics addressed by Stephen Castles throughout his extensive and prolific academic career, there is
one, particularly significant, on which I would like to draw attention: his analysis of the relationship between migra-
tion and development. Given the momentous academic and policy debate that followed the emergence of the United
Nations High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development (2006) and the Global Forum on Migration and Devel-
opment (2007), Stephen's interest was to build a comprehensive analytical framework of this relationship based on
his broad interest in social transformation. For this endeavour, my closeness to the Latin American school of critical
thought and my approach to migration from a Southern perspective laid the groundwork for a fruitful academic – and
political – relationship with Stephen, which also developed into a long-lasting friendship.
Our first joint work was the publication of the co-edited book Migration and Development: Perspectives from the
South, which was simultaneously translated into Spanish. This work emerged from several meetings in Bellagio and
Mexico City where we developed what we conceptualised as a Southern Perspective. The most important aspect
of this work, in Stephen's opinion, was to disentangle, from a social transformation approach in harmony with the
Latin American historical-structuralist approach, the plot concocted from the North and from the main imperialist
powers regarding the relationship between migration and development, through the demystification of the remit-
tance's mantra, i.e. “… the belief that remittances can be channelled into economic investments that will overcome
underdevelopment. Or to put it less positively, the idea is that some of the most exploited workers in the world can
make up for the failure of mainstream development policies” (Castles & Delgado Wise, 2008: 7).
Departing from Stephen's powerful notion of social transformation in connection with several insights derived
from my previous work on dependency theory, we noticed that the debate regarding the relationship between migra-
tion and development had been dominated by the now almost-sacrosanct belief that migration contributes to the
development of the country of origin. Rooted in neoclassical and monetarist economic theories, this view conceives
of migration as an independent variable, and the link between migration and development is approached as a one-way
scheme in which remittances serve as a key source of development for countries of origin. This orthodox framework
portrays the global market as the culmination of capitalist modernity and the end point of an inevitable process
that has no reasonable alternative. Social concerns associated with development are overlooked or ignored, as it is
generally assumed that a free global market will operate as an inexhaustible source of economic growth and social
welfare. These theoretical precepts were crafted in developed nations and assimilated without critical examination
© 2023 International Organization for Migration.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting