Forum on Public Policy Shifting Tides: Migration in the Era of Globalization, Global Conflict, and Environmental Collapse

The global movement of populations is going through an increasingly tumultuous and conflicted period. While the processes of globalization have in some ways made a smaller world, they have also increased the awareness of global inequality. The push and pull factors of migration have become complex and shifting as global economic streams shift, political conflict increases, and competition over shrinking resources intensifies. These changes raise the question of whether people are "immigrants " or "refugees. " As climate chaos expands, so does the number of "climate refugees. " This paper explores the economic, political and environmental sources of contemporary migration patterns; the ways immigrants are perceived and received, and poses suggestions for addressing the problems and possibilities