Why Control Immigration?
Strategic Uses of Migration Management in Russia

Caress Schenk (Author)

9781487502973

Hardback, published 25 March 2018

392 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.74 kg

"As one of the first English-language books on Russian migration policy, Why Control Immigration will make a significant and timely contribution to both migration studies in general, and to the Eurasian migration literature in particular…the combination of rich ethnographic data with a thorough document analysis [makes the book] a must-read for all those interested in understanding the key features of the Russian migration regime and its implications for the broader debates in migration studies"

Migration management in Russia is a window into how public policy, the federal system, and patronage are used to manage conflicting demands. This multi-level balancing act demonstrates the importance of high-level politics, institutional interests and constraints, and the conditions under which government actors at all levels can pursue their own interests as the state seeks political equilibrium. Why Control Immigration? argues that a scarcity of legal labour and the ensuing growth of illegal immigration can act as a patronage resource for bureaucratic and regional elites. Assessing the legal and political context of migration, Caress Schenk blends a political science approach with insights from the comparative immigration literature. Using this framework, she also engages with attitudes on populism and anti-immigration, particularly in terms of how political leaders utilize and employ public opinion in Russia.

1. Why Control Immigration?
2. The Multi-level Balancing Act of Migration Management
3. Scarcity Mechanism #1: Quotas as a Legacy of State Planning
4. Scarcity Mechanism # 2: Patents as State Capitalism
5. Local Politics of Immigration in Moscow
6. Regional Politics of Immigration in Sverdlovsk
7. Regional Politics of Immigration in Krasnodar