CAREER: Geographies of Sovereignty: Global Migration, Legality, and the Island Index

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。许多关于移民的研究考察了原籍国的条件，移民在‘东道国’社会的经历，或者两者兼而有之。相比之下，很少考虑原籍国和最终目的地之间的过境区和过渡区，即移民前往新地点途中经过的偏远地点。这个项目将研究这些州之间的旅行。锡拉丘兹大学地理系的艾莉森·蒙茨博士正在进行这项研究，通过将岛屿作为移民、庇护和主权斗争的特定地点以及联邦国家安全和难民保护任务的交叉点来调查，从而加强对这个被忽视的问题的了解。一批新出现的文献表明，走私企业在司法管辖权不明确的地方剥削经济贫困的移民和寻求庇护者。各国还在偏远地区开展活动，通过边境执法和拘留来管理无证移民。这项研究询问为什么特定的岛屿成为移民管理的地点，移民是如何抵达岛屿的，以及随之而来的法律问题是什么。将使用定性和定量的方法收集作为移民入境和处理地点的美洲、澳大利亚和欧洲岛屿的数据。该项目旨在分析岛屿的地理和人口结构，并在这些数据的基础上开发一个全球课堂。产生的数据库将用于绘制近海执法做法地图，并编制岛屿指数，旨在将岛屿的倾向列为移民进入、处理和斗争的地点。研究结果将促进有关全球移民的知识，以便为当代关于移民、边境执法和庇护政策的辩论做出贡献。该项目将为理解国际移民在国与国之间的旅程中发生的事情提供新的方法，包括海上拦截、岛屿拘留以及沿途出现的人权问题。研究生将与首席调查员合作，在五个国家的六个实地地点进行比较研究。这项研究将有助于政治地理和移民研究领域的创新课程设计，包括一个全球课堂，南非、英国和美国的学生将通过视频会议与跨越国界的同龄人一起绘制全球移民地图。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Much research on migration examines conditions in countries of origin, immigrant experiences in 'host' societies, or both. In contrast, there has been little consideration of zones of transit and transition between country of origin and final destination, that is, the remote sites migrants travel through on their journeys to new locations. This project will examine these journeys between states. Dr. Alison Mountz in the Department of Geography at Syracuse University is undertaking this study, which will enhance knowledge on this neglected issue by investigating islands as particular sites where struggles over migration, asylum, and sovereignty transpire and where federal mandates of national security and refugee protection intersect. An emerging body of literature suggests that smuggling industries exploit economically impoverished migrants and asylum-seekers in places of ambiguous jurisdiction. States also operate in remote locales to manage undocumented migration through border enforcement and detention. The research asks why particular islands become sites of migration management, how migrants arrive on islands, and what legal issues ensue. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to collect data on American, Australian, and European islands that are sites of migration entry and processing. The project aims to analyze island geographies and demographics and to develop a Global Classroom based on these data. The resulting database will be used to map offshore enforcement practices and to produce an island index that aims to rank islands' propensity as sites of migration entry, processing, and struggle. Research findings will advance knowledge on global migration in order to contribute to contemporary debates about immigration, border enforcement, and asylum policies. The project will offer new ways of understanding what happens to international migrants on their journeys between states, including the role of interception at sea, detention on islands, and human rights issues that emerge along the way. Graduate students will work with the Principal Investigator to conduct comparative research in six field sites in five countries. The research will contribute to innovative curricular design in the fields of political geography and migration studies, including a Global Classroom where students in South Africa, England, and the United States will work via videoconference to map global migrations alongside peers located across borders.