IOSPress

Migration has always been a part of the human experience: human history began with the migration of our distant ancestors from their place of origin. But today, immigration is a politically sensitive subject in most of the affluent nations of the world, in many of which one tenth or more of the population were foreign born. And it is a problem which is on the increase. It is estimated that there were 75.5 million international migrants worldwide in 1960; in 2005 that number had risen to 190.6 million. This book is the tenth volume in a series from the IIAS/IISA Working Group on Administrative History, and is the result of two intensive one-day meetings and a further two years of focused attention and dedicated work. Within the time frame of the 17th century to the mid 20th century, the book examines the experience of ten countries – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States – each with an important history of international migration. It shows that past migrations dramatically affected the countries studied and stimulated the development of administrative tools for dealing with international migration. When properly understood, these historical experiences can inform analysis of contemporary policy debates and this work will undoubtedly be of great value to all those involved with or interested in the subject of international migration.