Saskia Sassen / Immigration Tests

Saskia Sassen / Immigration

Immigration tests the new world order

The issue of globalization is one which interests more and more people and analysts every day. It has become part of the lives of billions of people particularly because, at every level of the society it affects each and every one of them. However, there have been voices arguing for and against this process. Some consider it to be a mere evolution of the society which existed before, while others consider it to be a revolution. However, there can be no assessment made properly and in a general manner because the effects of globalization tend to manifest differently and according to the specificities of each level of activity. Thus, in the trading business the issue of globalization is seen as a positive aspect of the interconnectivity of the world. On the other hand, however, there are discussions focusing on the way in which the wide access of people at the global job market or in general at the immigration possibilities is benefic or not for the states around the world.

Saskia Sassen discusses precisely this last aspect of the tensions arising in the debates on globalization. She takes into account the statement that immigration tests the new world order. However, in this regard it is important to see the meaning of the term "new world order." On the one hand, she points out the fact that globalization has created a reconfiguration of the political map in the sense that it changed the notion of sovereignty of the states. More precisely, it places in discussion the issue of nationality of the territories "where much globalization materializes in specific institutions and processes" (1996, 5). Also, the issue of the legal system governing cross border transactions has changed. In addition, globalization underlines the importance of the electronic space. All these changing issues, she concludes "reveal aspects of the relation between global economy and national state" (1996, 6). The new world order entangled all these factors which have changed the world.

On this issue, Sassen considers that the "economic globalization denationalizes national economies; in contrast, immigration is renationalizing politics" (1996, 63). In this sense, she points out the fact that immigration has become a major issue in the internal politics of the countries because it poses particular stress on the working force of the country as well as on the security of the national borders. More precisely, "when it comes to immigration, there is a daily need to process applications, accept, reject, drive to detention centers, drive from detention centers, patrol the borders, catch, fail to catch, rescue from leaking ships in the high seas and in the low seas" (1996, 66). Therefore, it can be said that from this point-of-view, the immigration issue weights heavily on the way in which domestic policy is conducted.