There can be no timelier subject than the immigration crisis unfolding in Europe and the US, which, as the richest regions in the world, are unsurprisingly attracting the bulk of refugees fleeing wars, natural disasters, social dislocations, and sheer poverty in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia. As the world is witnessing an immense magnitude of human mobility under the most extenuating circumstances, severe anti-immigrant ideology and inhumane policies abound, stemming from recent surges in nativism, autocracy, ethno-nationalism, Euroskepticism, and white supremacy. Carty singles out autocratic leaders such as Donald Trump and Viktor Orban for critical scrutiny. She also credits the digital revolution for facilitating and accelerating political and social mobilization against the tide of nativism cresting everywhere, crediting many human rights activists, NGOs, faith-based organizations, certain mainstream and social media outlets, and others for organizing resistance to anti-immigrant policies. Carty reminds the reader that the swell of migrants in Europe and the US must be attributed to the ravages of globalization under neoliberal regimes, as well as any push factors in their homelands. While immigration is a fast-moving target, anyone wishing to be up-to-date on the issues can rely on this deeply researched and clearly written study. Recommended.
* Choice *
Carty brings in the power of comparative analysis across world regions to illuminate the dynamics of international migration.She masterfully documents how populist-right demagogues manipulate publics in Europe and the United States about immigration from the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America. The Immigration Crisis also incorporates empowering stories and inspiring trends of mass resistance comprised of grassroots coalitions mobilizing against xenophobic policies by states in the global North. Students and scholars of race, migration, and political sociology will find this as an indispensable work to navigate extremist politics in the age of globalization.
-- Paul Almeida, University of California, Merced
To say that we are living in turbulent times would be a serious understatement. In her important new book, Victoria Carty explores the fraught, complicated relationships between three trends that are helping to fuel this turbulence: record levels of immigration world-wide, the rise of right-wing authoritarian regimes in Europe and the U.S., and the increasingly important role of social movements-on both the left and right-in shaping the politics of immigration in these countries. Anyone concerned with the issue of immigration or the threats to democracy in the West will want to read this book.
-- Doug McAdam, Stanford University
