Political migration
Encyclopedia
Political migration is any migration
motivated primarily by political
interests. Typically, political migration is in one of two classes, private or government, depending on who encourages the migration.
Political migrations differ from other migrations by attempting to change aspects of a political system. These changes are accomplished by modifying the demographics of a specific region. The focus on demographics necessitates an emphasis on migration towards low-population regions or artificially creating high-population regions.
ans migrated to the United States
to obtain greater political and religious freedom. Contemporary European laws strongly favored official state religions. Members of non-sanctioned religious sects became victims of persecution and sought escape in the New World
. Early Puritans at Massachusetts Bay repeated this pattern, expelling Roger Williams
and Anne Hutchinson
, who founded colonies in what was to become Rhode Island
.
After US independence, political migration would be a central feature of American civic life, generally occurring in waves - first after failed revolutions (1848, 1905) and later after successful ones (Russia
, Cuba
, Vietnam
, others).
The western frontiers of the United States continued to draw persons seeking greater religious and political liberty. The westward migration of the Latter-day Saints is the most prominent example in U.S. history.
Other migrations have sought broader rights for ethnic minorities. For example, in the 1880s, Edward P. McCabe
promoted a movement to establish a majority-black state in Oklahoma
. The movement was met with racism and the establishment of Jim Crow laws
in that state.
The US was the single biggest beneficiary of emigration in the face of increasingly severe, violent, and state-sanctioned anti-Semitism
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as flight by survivors of the Holocaust
.
, approximately 20,000 former supporters of the Confederate cause emigrated to Brazil
. While some of the emigrees returned to the United States, others became Brazilian citizens. Their descendants are known as Confederados
.
, eastern Europe was under the influence of the Soviet Union
, and authoritarian culture and economic stagnation would become the rule. Economic and political motivation existed to flee the Eastern Bloc
for the West, and millions did so.
The situation in East Germany provides a microcosm of the greater phenomenon. Between 1949 and 1961, approximately 2.2 million people (more than 10% of the population) migrated from East Germany to West Germany. In response to this private political migration, the East German government constructed the Berlin Wall
and a border system to prevent outward migration. These systems effectively stemmed the private westward migration (though several thousands a year did still find their way across the border) until August 1989 when Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria providing a viable route for the private political migration of East Germans. Soon thereafter, the East German border was reopened and the Berlin Wall destroyed.
While the reciprocal phenomenon was mainly limited to spies and radicals postwar, in the pre-World War II period flight to the Soviet Union was reasonably common among revolutionary communists
and other leftists, as well as members of smaller, subnational groups with little hope of revolutionary success at home, the most noteworthy of which being African-Americans
.
It is because of this tendency that Kim Jong-Il
was born in the USSR.
political systems may be influenced by concentrated, unified voters. If persons with similar political ideology migrate enough people to a specific region they will obtain political influence in the region, thus enabling them to enact their political goals.
Such projects differ in the geographic scale of the target region: town, county, state, nation. However, they tend to focus on regions with low populations, low voter registration, low voter turnout and high sympathy for the project's goals. All four criteria lower the number of migrants the project must rally in order to obtain "success" - a vital requirement, as freedom projects have been most attractive to organizations with extreme political goals and small memberships, e.g., the Libertarian Party
and Christian dominionists.
Government political migration includes efforts by government entities to relocate persons to geographic regions favored by a government. The motivation for such relocations generally comes from internal political pressures and the migrations are hoped to relieve the causes of those pressures. The goals may include:
- most actively under Peter I
and Catherine the Great - encouraged German settlement within its borders for various reasons, with the two tsar
s mentioned playing respectively an accessory role in the settlement of Baltic Germans and a primary role in the settlement of Volga Germans. Both settlements more or less ended after the fall of Nazi Germany
.
The formation of the German Empire
increased dramatically the amount of human and financial capital available to the Berlin government; while the Kingdom of Prussia
had generally encouraged settlement in East Prussia
, settlement there and more generally in Prussia's Slavic
eastern marches was greatly encouraged by the Empire and represented a core element of Imperial policy. After the German Revolution
, the Weimar government's conservative parties demanded with varying urgency new settlement in and aid for existing landholders in East Prussia, a policy known as osthilfe.
Following the Treaty of Versailles
in 1919 Germany lost approximately one sixth of its arable land to surrounding nations. That loss combined with losing its overseas territories made the population density of post-WWI
Germany (including its colonies) 97 per square kilometer. In contrast the population density of England (including its colonies) was less than 1 per square kilometer (however, the disparity in population density excluding the colonies was much less).
This population disparity gave rise to the Nazi
policy of Lebensraum
("living space") which demanded that Germany obtain land for the settlement of German peoples. The long-term goals of the lebensraum policy were a type of government political migration focused on moving Germans from the heart of Germany to other regions.
An intermediate step in the implementation of lebensraum was a forced government political migration of Jews from rural areas to concentrated urban centers (ghetto
s) thus preparing the countryside for the future migration of Germans. These ghettos, along with Nazi ideas about "racial hygiene
," lead to the genocide
of Jews and others in concentration camps.
was the disparity in population distribution between the nation's 17,000 islands. The island of Java encompasses only 6.8% of Indonesia's land area, yet 48.5% of its population.
Beginning with the Dutch in the early 20th century and continuing until August 2000, the Transmigration Program migrated over six million people from Java to other islands in the country. The migration did not significantly reduce the population density of Java. For example, if Java were an independent nation, it would be the eighth most densely populated nation in the world at 863 people per square kilometer. Removing 6 million people from the island (using 2003 population figures) would not change its world ranking.
towards the American Indians
is another example of government-sponsored migration because of population density concerns and the availability of arable land. During the 19th century, the population of the United States moved westward in pursuit of Manifest Destiny
thereby increasing conflict between new settlers and the existing American Indian populations. These conflicts created a perception among settlers — and the United States generally — that there was a shortage of arable land conveniently available for settlement.
To assuage these concerns, many politicians supported Indian removal
, causing incidents such as the Trail of Tears
and the Long Walk
. Indian Removal involved forcing Indians from their homes, confiscating their property and relocating them to designated territories such as the Indian territory
and later Indian reservation
s.
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
motivated primarily by political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
interests. Typically, political migration is in one of two classes, private or government, depending on who encourages the migration.
Political migrations differ from other migrations by attempting to change aspects of a political system. These changes are accomplished by modifying the demographics of a specific region. The focus on demographics necessitates an emphasis on migration towards low-population regions or artificially creating high-population regions.
Private political migrations
Private political migration includes efforts by individuals or organizations to migrate to a specified location. Although the detailed goals of these migrations vary widely, the trend is migration towards greater political liberty and flight from state persecution, most often in the face of crackdowns or after failed uprisings.America
During the 17th and 18th centuries, EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans migrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to obtain greater political and religious freedom. Contemporary European laws strongly favored official state religions. Members of non-sanctioned religious sects became victims of persecution and sought escape in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. Early Puritans at Massachusetts Bay repeated this pattern, expelling Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
and Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, who founded colonies in what was to become Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
After US independence, political migration would be a central feature of American civic life, generally occurring in waves - first after failed revolutions (1848, 1905) and later after successful ones (Russia
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, Cuba
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, others).
The western frontiers of the United States continued to draw persons seeking greater religious and political liberty. The westward migration of the Latter-day Saints is the most prominent example in U.S. history.
Other migrations have sought broader rights for ethnic minorities. For example, in the 1880s, Edward P. McCabe
Edward P. McCabe
Edward P. McCabe was an African-American settler, attorney, and land agent who became one of the first African Americans to hold a major political office in the American Old West...
promoted a movement to establish a majority-black state in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The movement was met with racism and the establishment of Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
in that state.
The US was the single biggest beneficiary of emigration in the face of increasingly severe, violent, and state-sanctioned anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as flight by survivors of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
Brazil
In the aftermath of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, approximately 20,000 former supporters of the Confederate cause emigrated to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. While some of the emigrees returned to the United States, others became Brazilian citizens. Their descendants are known as Confederados
Confederados
The Confederados are an ethnic sub-group in Brazil descended from some 10,000 Confederate Americans who immigrated chiefly to the area of the city of São Paulo, Brazil after the American Civil War...
.
Eastern Europe
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, eastern Europe was under the influence of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and authoritarian culture and economic stagnation would become the rule. Economic and political motivation existed to flee the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
for the West, and millions did so.
The situation in East Germany provides a microcosm of the greater phenomenon. Between 1949 and 1961, approximately 2.2 million people (more than 10% of the population) migrated from East Germany to West Germany. In response to this private political migration, the East German government constructed the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and a border system to prevent outward migration. These systems effectively stemmed the private westward migration (though several thousands a year did still find their way across the border) until August 1989 when Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria providing a viable route for the private political migration of East Germans. Soon thereafter, the East German border was reopened and the Berlin Wall destroyed.
While the reciprocal phenomenon was mainly limited to spies and radicals postwar, in the pre-World War II period flight to the Soviet Union was reasonably common among revolutionary communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and other leftists, as well as members of smaller, subnational groups with little hope of revolutionary success at home, the most noteworthy of which being African-Americans
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
.
It is because of this tendency that Kim Jong-Il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
was born in the USSR.
Freedom projects
The foundation of modern freedom projects is the recognition that democraticDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
political systems may be influenced by concentrated, unified voters. If persons with similar political ideology migrate enough people to a specific region they will obtain political influence in the region, thus enabling them to enact their political goals.
Such projects differ in the geographic scale of the target region: town, county, state, nation. However, they tend to focus on regions with low populations, low voter registration, low voter turnout and high sympathy for the project's goals. All four criteria lower the number of migrants the project must rally in order to obtain "success" - a vital requirement, as freedom projects have been most attractive to organizations with extreme political goals and small memberships, e.g., the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
and Christian dominionists.
Government political migrations
See also: ColonizationGovernment political migration includes efforts by government entities to relocate persons to geographic regions favored by a government. The motivation for such relocations generally comes from internal political pressures and the migrations are hoped to relieve the causes of those pressures. The goals may include:
- establishing power in a disputed territory
- encouraging economic development
- relieving urban pressures
Germany
In addition to state migration policies by Germany, the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
- most actively under Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
and Catherine the Great - encouraged German settlement within its borders for various reasons, with the two tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
s mentioned playing respectively an accessory role in the settlement of Baltic Germans and a primary role in the settlement of Volga Germans. Both settlements more or less ended after the fall of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
The formation of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
increased dramatically the amount of human and financial capital available to the Berlin government; while the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
had generally encouraged settlement in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, settlement there and more generally in Prussia's Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
eastern marches was greatly encouraged by the Empire and represented a core element of Imperial policy. After the German Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
, the Weimar government's conservative parties demanded with varying urgency new settlement in and aid for existing landholders in East Prussia, a policy known as osthilfe.
Following the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
in 1919 Germany lost approximately one sixth of its arable land to surrounding nations. That loss combined with losing its overseas territories made the population density of post-WWI
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Germany (including its colonies) 97 per square kilometer. In contrast the population density of England (including its colonies) was less than 1 per square kilometer (however, the disparity in population density excluding the colonies was much less).
This population disparity gave rise to the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
policy of Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
("living space") which demanded that Germany obtain land for the settlement of German peoples. The long-term goals of the lebensraum policy were a type of government political migration focused on moving Germans from the heart of Germany to other regions.
An intermediate step in the implementation of lebensraum was a forced government political migration of Jews from rural areas to concentrated urban centers (ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
s) thus preparing the countryside for the future migration of Germans. These ghettos, along with Nazi ideas about "racial hygiene
Racial hygiene
Racial hygiene was a set of early twentieth century state sanctioned policies by which certain groups of individuals were allowed to procreate and others not, with the expressed purpose of promoting certain characteristics deemed to be particularly desirable...
," lead to the genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of Jews and others in concentration camps.
Indonesia
The political pressure inspiring Indonesia's Transmigration ProgramTransmigration program
The transmigration program was an initiative of the Dutch colonial government, and later continued by Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country...
was the disparity in population distribution between the nation's 17,000 islands. The island of Java encompasses only 6.8% of Indonesia's land area, yet 48.5% of its population.
Beginning with the Dutch in the early 20th century and continuing until August 2000, the Transmigration Program migrated over six million people from Java to other islands in the country. The migration did not significantly reduce the population density of Java. For example, if Java were an independent nation, it would be the eighth most densely populated nation in the world at 863 people per square kilometer. Removing 6 million people from the island (using 2003 population figures) would not change its world ranking.
United States
The policy of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
towards the American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
is another example of government-sponsored migration because of population density concerns and the availability of arable land. During the 19th century, the population of the United States moved westward in pursuit of Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
thereby increasing conflict between new settlers and the existing American Indian populations. These conflicts created a perception among settlers — and the United States generally — that there was a shortage of arable land conveniently available for settlement.
To assuage these concerns, many politicians supported Indian removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
, causing incidents such as the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
and the Long Walk
Long Walk of the Navajo
The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo , refers to the 1864 deportation of the Navajo people by the U.S. Government. Navajos were forced to walk at gunpoint from their reservation in what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico. The trip lasted about 18 days...
. Indian Removal involved forcing Indians from their homes, confiscating their property and relocating them to designated territories such as the Indian territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and later Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
s.
See also
- Transmigration programTransmigration programThe transmigration program was an initiative of the Dutch colonial government, and later continued by Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country...
- SettlerSettlerA settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
- Population transferPopulation transferPopulation transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
- Free State ProjectFree State ProjectThe Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
- Free State WyomingFree State WyomingFree State Wyoming is a political migration project whose goal is to bring people of "demonstrably ethical character" to the state of Wyoming in the western United States to encourage "political liberty, free trade and voluntary cooperation."...
- Christian ExodusChristian ExodusChristian Exodus is a Christian secessionist group. Initially, they attempted to organize a mass movement to South Carolina and later Idaho. Currently, the goal of Christian Exodus has been to pull members together into micro-communities, through social networking, and encouraging its members to...
- Free West AllianceFree West AllianceThe Free West Alliance is an organization attempting to organize the migration of libertarians and the like-minded into the U.S. states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, in order to influence local political policy toward libertarian ideals...