Migrants trough the

prism of political
demography
Hana, Denis i Enes International relations and Diplomacy
 Terminology
MIGRANT
An umbrella term, not defined under international law,
reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who
moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether
within a country or across an international border, temporarily
or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. The term includes
a number of well-defined legal categories of people, such as
migrant workers; persons whose particular types of movements
are legally-defined, such as smuggled migrants; as well as those
whose status or means of movement are not specifically
defined under international law, such as international students.
Note: At the international level, no universally accepted
definition for “migrant” exists. The present definition was
developed by IOM for its own purposes and it is not meant to
imply or create any new legal category.
International Organization for Migration
POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHY
Political demography is the study of the
interconnection between economics, policy, and
population. Unlike the general discipline of
demography, the field is not focused on the creation
of demographic measurements or the refining of
estimations; political demography concerns itself
with the broad consequences on attitudes and
structure, both individual and political, from the
policy choice to attempt to manipulate demography,
the aftereffects of its change, and the determinist
characteristic of population itself. Weiner 1971
explains that “political demography is the study of
the size, composition, and distribution of population
in relation to both government and politics.
Oxford Bibliographies

Observing the problem

Whether there are too many people in the
world, and what should be done about it,
has exercised minds of various political
persuasions for many decades and
particularly since the Second World War.
This was a time in which two issues
relevant to the theme emerged: first, the
very real rapid population growth in what
was termed the ‘developing world’, today
the ‘global south’, and second, the
emergence of a number of international
organizations that could address the issue
in the context of ‘development’.
Oxford Bibliographies

Observing the problem

Today, however, it is population decrease in
certain parts of the world and its consequences
for, among other things, increased migration that
is exerting politicians and public alike. That is,
fertility decline, which has led to decreasing
growth in labour force and, ultimately, towards
population decline in many parts of the developed
world, has increased pressure to import labour.
Hence, politics has reacted both to the fear of
growing numbers of “the other” and to the need
for “the other”. The policy challenges of stagnating
and declining populations will be as great in the
future as those of expanding populations in a
previous age.
GERMAN
MIGRATION
POLICY
friendly
Germany's workforce in desperate Refuge family in Germany
need of skilled immigrants
Almost 34 million people in Germany are in regular
employment. That's a new record. But at the same time, the
number of vacancies continues to rise. Years with high birth
rates are retiring, and due to negative demographic
development, the number of new workers is decreasing.
More and more companies are complaining about the lack of
skilled labor. For the German economy, this has become one
of the biggest business risks.

How serious the situation is is shown by the latest public

opinion poll commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation
by the Civey Institute. Of the 7,500 entrepreneurs surveyed,
66 percent said they could not find enough skilled workers.
Last year, 55 percent said they were counting on problems
filling jobs.

deutsche welle
 deutsche welle

Syrian imigrants in Germany Immigrant friendly policy

The situation is not the same in all industries,
regions, occupations and qualifications. If
companies with labor shortages are wondering
what exactly they are missing, almost every other
one lists people with completed high school
vocational training. Academically educated people
are lacking in every fourth company. With regard to
the industry, the lack of skilled labor particularly
affects the care of the elderly and infirm and
health.
"The fact is: Germany is running out of labor,"
Detlef Scheele, chairman of the Federal Labor
Agency's board, warned in August. According to
him, Germany needs 400,000 immigrants a year to
meet labor market needs.
HUNGARYAN
MIGRATION
POLICY
unfriendly
Recent Changes in Refugee-Related
Policies in Hungary

GLOBSEC Policy Institute

The refugee issue according to the data

Changes in the number of asylum-seekers

Hungary is still not a target country for asylum-seekers. Moreover, due to further restrictions under
its refugee policy it has become practically impossible to obtain refugee status in Hungary.
(Immigration and Asylum Office) took 210,271 decisions in 2015 and 2016 altogether. 96% of all
procedures were suspended primarily because the applicant left the country for an unknown location
after the registration. Out of the 8,532 meaningful decisions only 940 were positive, 89% of applicants
were rejected. In January 2017 the Immigration and Asylum Office granted international protection to
21 asylum-seekers (8 obtained refugee status, 13 received subsidiary protection), while it rejected 803
applications despite the fact that the majority of applicants (79%) came from areas affected by terror:
16% from Syria, 40% from Afghanistan, 22% from Iraq and 1% from Somalia. 38% of all applicants were
children and 30% of them were women.

GLOBSEC Policy Institute

GLOBSEC Policy Institute
CONCLUSION
Demographic picture of Europe
The demographic make-up of Europe is changing. We are getting older and
the number of people of work-ing age is decreasing. A study commissioned in
2007 on "Europe's Demographic Future" found that around 56 million
immigrant workers could be needed by 2050 to compensate for this decline.
The high point of immigration into the European Union was in 2004 and 2005
with 2 million people entering the EU each year. They form part of the 3.7% of
the total EU population who are from outside the borders of the 27 states.

Eurostat - the EU's statistical collection agency - has found tha thet decline in
the working population could begin by the end of this decade - in just two
years time. On the other hand, if 2005 levels of immigration are maintained,
the population will continue to grow until around 2030.

European parliament
Immigrants integration policy
However, the extent to which immigrants integrate and are accepted are
delicate issues. A Eurobarometer survey found that the insufficient
integration of immigrants causes a negative perception of migration. Ac-
cording to polls, only 4 out of 10 EU citizens feel that immigrants contribute
to their country.

The report by Ms Castex emphasises that the EU needs a clear and reasoned
approach to immigration to counter xenophobic opinions and attitudes. It
calls for immigrants to be given legal and social security and for human
traffickers and employers who use illegal labour to be the target of legal and
criminal measures.

European parliament
Which Countries Have Shrinking Populations?

YOUTUBE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Global Political Demography The Politics of Population Change Edited by Achim
Goerres · Pieter Vanhuysse
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/
https://www.dw.com/hr/njema%C4%8Dka-treba-jo%C5%A1-vi%C5%A1e-stranih-
radnika/a-59729808
https://www.iom.int/who-migrant-0
Demography and Demographers in Modern Germany - Steve Hochstadt
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice
POLITICAL DIMENSIONS OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE - Michael S. Teitelbaum
THANK YOU(TH)