Security and Migration in Asia

Security and Migration in Asia explores how various forms of unregulated and illegal forms of human movement within Asia and beyond the region have come to be treated as 'security' issues, and whether and how a 'securitization' framework enables a more effective response to them. The process and theory of 'securitization' and 'desecuritization' have been developed within the international relations literature by the so-call Copenhagen school scholars, including Barry Buzan and Ole Waever among others. The topics explored in this well- presented and engaging book cover geographic areas of China, Northeast Asia, Central Asia, the Russian Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Hong Kong SAR, and includes research on: human trafficking and people smuggling financing illegal migration and links to transnational organized crime regulated and unregulated labour migration the 'securitization' of illegal migration in sending, transit and receiving countries.
This book provides compelling insights into contemporary forms of illegal migration, under conditions of globalization, and makes a contribution to the literature in international relations and migration studies.

Melissa G. Curley is Lecturer in International Relations in the School of Political Science and International Studies, at the University of Queensland, Australia. Wong Siu-lun is Professor and Director of the Centre of Asian Studies at the University of Hong Kong.

1. Introduction: Applying Securitisation Theory to Unregulated Migration in Asia Melissa G. Curley and Wong Siu-lun 2. Levels of Analysis Issues in the Migration-Security Nexus Melissa G. Curley 3. Illegal Migration and Migrant Smuggling in the Asia- Pacific: Balancing Regional Security and Human Rights Andreas Schloenhardt 4. Securitising Human Trafficking in the Asia-Pacific: Regional Organisations and Response Strategies Ralf Emmers, Beth Greener-Barcham and Nicholas Thomas 5.The Securitisation of Chinese Migration to the Russian Far East: Rhetoric and Reality Elizabeth Wishnick 6. Human Smuggling and Trafficking in the Taiwan Strait: Security Predicament or Political Dilemma? James K. Chin 7. The Cultural Economy of Illegal Migration: Migrant Workers Who Overstay in Hong Kong Amy S.C. Sim 8. Human Trafficking in Post-Soviet Central Asia: A Critique of the Securitisation Framework Nicole Jackson 9. Reflections on Managing Migration in Southeast Asia: Mitigating the Unintended Consequences of Securitisation Mely Caballero-Anthony 10. Conclusion: Undocumented Migration and the State/Human Security Nexus in Asia Melissa G. Curley and Wong Siu-lun