Theoretical Article
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A Structural Phenomenon of World Society: Irregular Migration

Year 2025, Volume: 24 Issue: 52, 1 - 25, 27.06.2025
https://doi.org/10.46928/iticusbe.1654250

Abstract

Irregular migration constitutes one of the most debated dimensions of international migration movements, which have accelerated with globalization. State border policies, based on the distinction between citizens and non-citizens, contradict individuals' efforts to achieve better living conditions, thereby giving rise to the phenomenon of irregular migration. The contradiction between nation-states' approaches to border security and sovereignty and the inclusive nature of economic and social function systems renders irregular migration an inevitable phenomenon in the modern world society. Irregular migration emerges within a scenario where these two opposing logics interact. Within this paradox, while social structures push individuals toward increased global mobility, political powers attempt to regulate or restrict such movements. The mismatch between the flows generated by the former and those accepted and legitimized by the latter determines that a constant number of migrants engage in irregular mobility, residence, and employment.
This study aims to examine the conditions under which irregular migration emerges, its historical evolution, and its sociological dimensions within the context of state-migrant relations. Rather than merely viewing irregular migration as a legal issue, this study conceptualizes it as a dynamic phenomenon shaped by the interaction of various social systems. It analyzes how state border policies and migration governance approaches interact with global economic, legal, educational, and social systems. The study highlights the tension between migrants' strategies for achieving social mobility and states' efforts to restrict such mobility. It concludes that understanding irregular migration solely from a security or legal violation perspective is insufficient; instead, it must be examined through a multidimensional framework encompassing social differentiation processes, international policies, and individual strategies. Moreover, it underscores the need for further empirical research on this complex phenomenon.

References

  • Altunbaş, Ç. & Memişoğlu, F. (2024). Securitization of the EU’s migration policy and its effects on the border security policies of Greece and Turkey. B. Ş. Z. Savcı, L. Pries, and M. M. Erdoğan (Ed.), Forced migration in Turkey Refugee perspectives, organizational assistance, and political embedding (s. 200-224) içinde. Routledge.
  • Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso Books.
  • Anderson, B., & Ruhs, M. (2010). Researching illegality and labour migration. Population, Space and Place, 16(3), 175–179. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.594
  • Baldwin-Edwards, M., & Kraler, A. (2009). REGINE-Regularisations in Europe. Amsterdam University Press. Bloch, A., & Chimienti, M. (2011). Irregular migration in a globalizing world. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(8), 1271–1285. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.560277
  • Bommes, M. (2012a). Migration in modern society. C. Boswell & G. D’Amato (Ed.), Immigration and social systems. Collected essays of Michael Bommes (s. 19–36) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Bommes, M. (2012b). Illegal migration in modern society: Consequences and problems of national European migration policies. C. Boswell & G. D’Amato (Ed.), Immigration and social systems. Collected essays of Michael Bommes (s. 157–176) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Bommes, M., & Geddes, A. (Eds.). (2000). Immigration and welfare. Challenging the borders of the welfare state. Routledge.
  • Bommes, M., & Sciortino, G. (2011b). In lieu of a conclusion: Steps towards a conceptual framework for the study of irregular migration. M. Bommes & G. Sciortino (Ed.), Foggy social structures: Irregular migration, European labour markets and the welfare state (s. 213–228) içinde. Amsterdam University Press. Bommes, M., & Sciortino, G. (Ed.). (2011a). Foggy social structures: Irregular migration, European labour markets and the welfare state. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Boswell, C. (2007). Theorizing migration policy: Is there a third way? International Migration Review, 41(1), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00057.x
  • Castles, S. (2004). Why migration policies fail. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27(2), 205–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141987042000177306
  • Castles, S. (2010). Understanding global migration: A social transformation perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10), 1565–1586. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2010.489381
  • Chelioudakis, E. (2022). Privatization of security, border management, and defense in the EU: Does reliance on tech companies erode states’ sovereignty?. G. Hudson and I. Atak (Ed.), Migration, security, and resistance: Global and local perspectives (s. 83-103) içinde. Routledge.
  • Cvajner, M., & Sciortino, G. (2010). Theorizing irregular migration: The control of spatial mobility in differentiated societies. European Journal of Social Theory, 13(3), 389–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431010371764
  • De Coninck, D. (2019). Migrant categorizations and European public opinion: Diverging attitudes towards immigrants and refugees. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(9), 1667–1686. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1694406
  • De Genova, N. P. (2002). Migrant “illegality” and deportability in everyday life. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31, 419–447. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4132887.
  • De Haas, H., Castles, S. & Miller, M. J. (2020). The Age of migration international population movements in the modern world. Guilford Press.
  • Düvell, F. (2006). Illegal immigration in Europe: Beyond control? Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Düvell, F. (2011a). The pathways in and out of irregular migration in the EU: A comparative analysis. European Journal of Migration and Law, 13(3), 245–250. https://doi.org/10.1163/1 57181611X587838
  • Düvell, F. (2011b). Paths into irregularity: The legal and political construction of irregular migration. European Journal of Migration and Law, 13(3), 275–295. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718 1611X587856
  • Echeverría, G. (2020). Towards a systemic theory of irregular migration. Cham: Springer.
  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1996). After the golden age? Welfare state dilemmas in a global economy. G. Esping-Andersen (Ed.), Welfare states in transition: National adaptations in global economies (s. 1–31) içinde. Sage.
  • Garfield, E. (1987). The anomi-deviant behavior connection: The theories Durkheim, Merton and Srole. Essay on information scientist, 10(39), 272-281. Halfmann, J. (2000). Welfare and territory. M. Bommes & A. Geddes (Ed.), Immigration and welfare. Challenging the borders of the welfare state. Routledge.
  • Hobsbawm, E. J. (2012). Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. Cambridge University Press.
  • Hollifield, J. F. (1998). Migration, trade, and the Nation-State: The myth of globalization. UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, 3(2), 595–636. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45302102
  • Isin, E. F. & Turner, B. S. (2002). Citizenship Studies: An Introduction. E. F. Isin & B. S. Turner (Ed.), Citizenship Studies (s. 1-10) içinde. Sage Publications.
  • Koser, K. (2010). Dimensions and dynamics of irregular migration. Population, Space and Place, 16, 181-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.587
  • Luhmann, N. (2012). Theory of society – Volume 1. Stanford University Press.
  • Luhmann, N. (2013). Theory of society – Volume 2. Stanford University Press.
  • Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure. Simon and Schuster.
  • Ngai, M. M. (2014). Impossible subjects: Illegal aliens and the making of modern America. Princeton University Press.
  • Schuster, L. (2023). Unmixing migrants and refugees. A. Triandafyllidou (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies (s. 341-348) içinde. Routledge. Sciortino, G. (2004a). Immigration in a Mediterranean welfare state: The Italian experience in comparative perspective. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 6 (2), 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/1387698042000273442
  • Sciortino, G. (2004b). Between phantoms and necessary evils. Some critical points in the study of irregular migrations to Western Europe. IMIS-Beiträge, 24, 17–43.
  • Sciortino, G. (2013). The regulation of undocumented migration. M. Martiniello & J. Rath (Eds.), An introduction to international migration studies (s. 349–375) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Yale University Press . Smith, A. D. (1986). The ethnic origins of nations. Basil Blackwell.
  • Torpey, J. (1998). Coming and going: On the state monopolization of the legitimate “means of movement”. Sociological Theory, 16(3), 239–259. https://www.jstor.org/stable/202182
  • Triandafyllidou, A. (2009). Undocumented Migration: Counting the Uncountable. Data and Trends Across Europe. Clandestino project final report. Athen: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
  • Triandafyllidou, A. (2023). Irregular migration and migration control policies. I. van Liempt, J. Schapendonk, and A. Campos-Delgado (Ed.), Research handbook on irregular migration Elgar handbooks in migration (s. 14-24) içinde. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Vallet, E. (2021). State of border walls in a globalized world. A. Bissonnette & E. Vallet (Ed.), Borders and border walls in-security, Symbolism, vulnerabilities (s. 7-24) içinde. Routledge.
  • Van Der Leun, J. (2003). Looking for loopholes: Processes of incorporation of illegal immigrants in the Netherlands. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Wagner, J. (2022). The European Union's model of Integrated Border Management: preventing transnational threats, cross-border crime and irregular migration in the context of the EU's security policies and strategies. C. Leuprecht, T. Hataley, and E. Brunet-Jailly (Ed.), Patterns in border security regional comparisons (s. 76-100) içinde. Routledge.
  • Wimmer, A., & Glick-Schiller, N. (2003). Methodological nationalism, the social sciences, and the study of migration: An essay in historical epistemology. International Migration Review, 37(3), 576–610. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2003.tb00151.x
  • Zolberg, A., & Benda, P. M. (2001). Global migrants, global refugees: Problems and solutions. Berghahn Books.

Dünya Toplumunun Yapısal Fenomeni: Düzensiz Göç

Year 2025, Volume: 24 Issue: 52, 1 - 25, 27.06.2025
https://doi.org/10.46928/iticusbe.1654250

Abstract

Düzensiz göç, küreselleşme ile hız kazanan uluslararası göç hareketlerinin en tartışmalı boyutlarından birini oluşturmaktadır. Devletlerin vatandaş-yabancı ayrımına dayalı sınır politikaları, bireylerin daha iyi yaşam koşullarına ulaşma çabasıyla çelişmekte ve bu durum düzensiz göç olgusunu ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Ulus-devletlerin sınır güvenliği ve egemenlik anlayışı ile ekonomik ve toplumsal işlev sistemlerinin kapsayıcı yapısı arasındaki çelişki, düzensiz göçü modern dünya toplumunun kaçınılmaz bir fenomeni haline getirmektedir. Düzensiz göç, bu iki farklı ve zıt mantığın etkileşime girdiği bir senaryoda ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu paradoks çerçevesinde sosyal yapılar insanların dünya çapında daha fazla hareketliliğini zorlarken, siyasi güçler bunları düzenlemeye ya da durdurmaya çalışmaktadır. İlki tarafından yaratılan akışlar ile ikincisi tarafından kabul edilen ve meşrulaştırılanlar arasındaki uyumsuzluk, sürekli sayıda göçmenin düzensiz bir şekilde harekete katıldığını, ikamet ettiğini ve çalıştığını belirlemektedir.
Bu çalışma, düzensiz göçün ortaya çıkış koşullarını, tarihsel gelişimini ve devlet-göçmen ilişkileri bağlamında kazandığı sosyolojik boyutları ele almayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada, düzensiz göç yalnızca bir yasallık sorunu olarak değil, farklı toplumsal sistemlerin etkileşimi sonucunda şekillenen dinamik bir olgu olarak ele alınmaktadır. Devletlerin sınır politikaları ve göç yönetimi yaklaşımlarının, küresel ekonomi, hukuk, eğitim ve sosyal sistemlerle nasıl bir etkileşim içerisinde olduğu analiz edilmektedir. Çalışma, göçmenlerin sosyal hareketliliğe erişim stratejileri ile devletlerin bu hareketliliği sınırlama çabaları arasındaki gerilimi gözler önüne sermektedir. Düzensiz göçün yalnızca güvenlik ve yasa ihlali perspektifiyle ele alınmasının yetersiz olduğu, bunun yerine olgunun toplumsal farklılaşma süreçleri, uluslararası politikalar ve bireysel stratejiler bağlamında çok boyutlu bir şekilde incelenmesi ve ampirik çalışmaların artırılması gerektiği ortaya çıkmaktadır.

References

  • Altunbaş, Ç. & Memişoğlu, F. (2024). Securitization of the EU’s migration policy and its effects on the border security policies of Greece and Turkey. B. Ş. Z. Savcı, L. Pries, and M. M. Erdoğan (Ed.), Forced migration in Turkey Refugee perspectives, organizational assistance, and political embedding (s. 200-224) içinde. Routledge.
  • Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso Books.
  • Anderson, B., & Ruhs, M. (2010). Researching illegality and labour migration. Population, Space and Place, 16(3), 175–179. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.594
  • Baldwin-Edwards, M., & Kraler, A. (2009). REGINE-Regularisations in Europe. Amsterdam University Press. Bloch, A., & Chimienti, M. (2011). Irregular migration in a globalizing world. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(8), 1271–1285. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2011.560277
  • Bommes, M. (2012a). Migration in modern society. C. Boswell & G. D’Amato (Ed.), Immigration and social systems. Collected essays of Michael Bommes (s. 19–36) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Bommes, M. (2012b). Illegal migration in modern society: Consequences and problems of national European migration policies. C. Boswell & G. D’Amato (Ed.), Immigration and social systems. Collected essays of Michael Bommes (s. 157–176) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Bommes, M., & Geddes, A. (Eds.). (2000). Immigration and welfare. Challenging the borders of the welfare state. Routledge.
  • Bommes, M., & Sciortino, G. (2011b). In lieu of a conclusion: Steps towards a conceptual framework for the study of irregular migration. M. Bommes & G. Sciortino (Ed.), Foggy social structures: Irregular migration, European labour markets and the welfare state (s. 213–228) içinde. Amsterdam University Press. Bommes, M., & Sciortino, G. (Ed.). (2011a). Foggy social structures: Irregular migration, European labour markets and the welfare state. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Boswell, C. (2007). Theorizing migration policy: Is there a third way? International Migration Review, 41(1), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00057.x
  • Castles, S. (2004). Why migration policies fail. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27(2), 205–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141987042000177306
  • Castles, S. (2010). Understanding global migration: A social transformation perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10), 1565–1586. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2010.489381
  • Chelioudakis, E. (2022). Privatization of security, border management, and defense in the EU: Does reliance on tech companies erode states’ sovereignty?. G. Hudson and I. Atak (Ed.), Migration, security, and resistance: Global and local perspectives (s. 83-103) içinde. Routledge.
  • Cvajner, M., & Sciortino, G. (2010). Theorizing irregular migration: The control of spatial mobility in differentiated societies. European Journal of Social Theory, 13(3), 389–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431010371764
  • De Coninck, D. (2019). Migrant categorizations and European public opinion: Diverging attitudes towards immigrants and refugees. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(9), 1667–1686. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1694406
  • De Genova, N. P. (2002). Migrant “illegality” and deportability in everyday life. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31, 419–447. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4132887.
  • De Haas, H., Castles, S. & Miller, M. J. (2020). The Age of migration international population movements in the modern world. Guilford Press.
  • Düvell, F. (2006). Illegal immigration in Europe: Beyond control? Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Düvell, F. (2011a). The pathways in and out of irregular migration in the EU: A comparative analysis. European Journal of Migration and Law, 13(3), 245–250. https://doi.org/10.1163/1 57181611X587838
  • Düvell, F. (2011b). Paths into irregularity: The legal and political construction of irregular migration. European Journal of Migration and Law, 13(3), 275–295. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718 1611X587856
  • Echeverría, G. (2020). Towards a systemic theory of irregular migration. Cham: Springer.
  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1996). After the golden age? Welfare state dilemmas in a global economy. G. Esping-Andersen (Ed.), Welfare states in transition: National adaptations in global economies (s. 1–31) içinde. Sage.
  • Garfield, E. (1987). The anomi-deviant behavior connection: The theories Durkheim, Merton and Srole. Essay on information scientist, 10(39), 272-281. Halfmann, J. (2000). Welfare and territory. M. Bommes & A. Geddes (Ed.), Immigration and welfare. Challenging the borders of the welfare state. Routledge.
  • Hobsbawm, E. J. (2012). Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. Cambridge University Press.
  • Hollifield, J. F. (1998). Migration, trade, and the Nation-State: The myth of globalization. UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, 3(2), 595–636. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45302102
  • Isin, E. F. & Turner, B. S. (2002). Citizenship Studies: An Introduction. E. F. Isin & B. S. Turner (Ed.), Citizenship Studies (s. 1-10) içinde. Sage Publications.
  • Koser, K. (2010). Dimensions and dynamics of irregular migration. Population, Space and Place, 16, 181-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.587
  • Luhmann, N. (2012). Theory of society – Volume 1. Stanford University Press.
  • Luhmann, N. (2013). Theory of society – Volume 2. Stanford University Press.
  • Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure. Simon and Schuster.
  • Ngai, M. M. (2014). Impossible subjects: Illegal aliens and the making of modern America. Princeton University Press.
  • Schuster, L. (2023). Unmixing migrants and refugees. A. Triandafyllidou (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies (s. 341-348) içinde. Routledge. Sciortino, G. (2004a). Immigration in a Mediterranean welfare state: The Italian experience in comparative perspective. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 6 (2), 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/1387698042000273442
  • Sciortino, G. (2004b). Between phantoms and necessary evils. Some critical points in the study of irregular migrations to Western Europe. IMIS-Beiträge, 24, 17–43.
  • Sciortino, G. (2013). The regulation of undocumented migration. M. Martiniello & J. Rath (Eds.), An introduction to international migration studies (s. 349–375) içinde. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state: How certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed. Yale University Press . Smith, A. D. (1986). The ethnic origins of nations. Basil Blackwell.
  • Torpey, J. (1998). Coming and going: On the state monopolization of the legitimate “means of movement”. Sociological Theory, 16(3), 239–259. https://www.jstor.org/stable/202182
  • Triandafyllidou, A. (2009). Undocumented Migration: Counting the Uncountable. Data and Trends Across Europe. Clandestino project final report. Athen: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
  • Triandafyllidou, A. (2023). Irregular migration and migration control policies. I. van Liempt, J. Schapendonk, and A. Campos-Delgado (Ed.), Research handbook on irregular migration Elgar handbooks in migration (s. 14-24) içinde. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Vallet, E. (2021). State of border walls in a globalized world. A. Bissonnette & E. Vallet (Ed.), Borders and border walls in-security, Symbolism, vulnerabilities (s. 7-24) içinde. Routledge.
  • Van Der Leun, J. (2003). Looking for loopholes: Processes of incorporation of illegal immigrants in the Netherlands. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Wagner, J. (2022). The European Union's model of Integrated Border Management: preventing transnational threats, cross-border crime and irregular migration in the context of the EU's security policies and strategies. C. Leuprecht, T. Hataley, and E. Brunet-Jailly (Ed.), Patterns in border security regional comparisons (s. 76-100) içinde. Routledge.
  • Wimmer, A., & Glick-Schiller, N. (2003). Methodological nationalism, the social sciences, and the study of migration: An essay in historical epistemology. International Migration Review, 37(3), 576–610. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2003.tb00151.x
  • Zolberg, A., & Benda, P. M. (2001). Global migrants, global refugees: Problems and solutions. Berghahn Books.
There are 42 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Labour, Migration and Development, Policy and Administration (Other), Sociology (Other)
Journal Section Theoretical Article
Authors

Semih Nargül 0000-0001-8694-0981

Publication Date June 27, 2025
Submission Date March 9, 2025
Acceptance Date May 12, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 24 Issue: 52

Cite

APA Nargül, S. (2025). Dünya Toplumunun Yapısal Fenomeni: Düzensiz Göç. İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 24(52), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.46928/iticusbe.1654250