The Transnational Social Question: From Social Protection to Social Inequalities

1. The Transnational Social Question:From Social Protection to Social Inequalities Thomas Faist Centre on Migration, Citizenship and Development (COMCAD), Department of Sociology Bielefeld University

2. The Transnational Social Question • Social Question in the 19th century – Transnational Social Question today? “Great transformation“  “second great transformation“? • Is there a transformation of mainly national social policy within welfare states to global social policy in the 21st century? • Increasing (perception of) global interdependencies: e.g. migration, military threats, environmental degradation, opportunity (such as professionals) -- and increasing awareness of global social inequalities (e.g. MDG)

3. Migration and Social Protection • Migration can be seen as a form of social protection • Social protection provisioning is also important for migrants due primarily to migrant-specific vulnerabilities • Issues involve (a) the access of migrants to basic social benefits in the immigration country, (b) the portability of social security benefits, specifically pensions and healthcare benefits, once they return to their home country, and (c) non-state support structures consisting of migrant networks, associations, etc.

4. Social Inequalities andTransnational Social Protection • Social protection reduces risks and thus decreases social inequalities • Social rights and social policies stabilize welfare capitalism as a legitimate system of social inequality on the national level • How does cross-border migration contribute to social protection and (re)produce social inequalities?

5. Arguments • Methodologicalical transnationalism: Overcoming static approaches to social protection & inequality which focus on one frame only • Empirical finding: Transnational social protection addresses global social inequalities, yet creates new forms of inequalities in both emigration and immigration regions

6. Outline • Part 1: Approaching Transnational Social Protection • Part 2: Universal Social Rights and Fragmented Welfare Stateness • Part 3: The Rise of Migrants as Development Agents and Changing Principles Social Order • Part 4: The (Re-)Production of Social Inequalities

7. Part 1: Approaching TransnationalSocial Protection

8. The Optics AvailableNational, World, Transnational • Analyses of National Welfare States are often concerned with (a) integration of migrants and their children (social integration) and (b) functionings of welfare state as such (e.g. demography) (national systems integration) • Neo-institutionalist (world) theories are interested in how world-cultural ontology spreads into international and national law, e.g. social rights as human rights • Transnational Optic so far has been mostly concerned with practices of migrants and their significant others – yet little consideration of changing institutions

9. Transnational Assemblages • Institutional Assemblage of differentiated forms of welfare stateness and other forms of social protection – modern and traditional / informal and formal • Transnational lens: National/regional systems of protection criss-crossed  transnational spaces as reference points

10. Part 2: Universal Social Rights and Fragmented Welfare Stateness

11. Social Rights as Human Rights • Social rights include those listed in the General Declaration ofHuman Rights (1948): Elementary school education, health care, minimum income, secure employment, right to collective organization in the workplace, food, shelter, social security • Specifications: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000)

12. Social Security in Global Perspective • Beyond welfare stateness and bilateral treaties there is little redistribution; nonetheless, there is regulation (e.g. European Union); • Globally mostly „soft law“, such as corporate social responsibility, social labels, codes of conduct (e.g. Global Compact) • Adequate concepts? Social rights  social standards  capabilities (Sen)

13. A Global Perspective: Fragmented Welfare Stateness • (1) Welfare stateness is mostly restricted to national welfare states in the OECD countries • (2) In so-called NICs often considerable evolution over the past decades in “human investment sectors“ (education, health); cp. transformation countries • (3) In so-called developing countries often only available to very select groups • (4) In marginalized regions high degrees of existential insecurity (Hobbesian world)

14. The Four Worlds of Social Security

15. Towards a Global Social Policy Model? • 1970s/80s: Structural adjustment policies (Africa, Latin America, South Asia) • Followed by “post-Washington consensus” (1) combination of a liberal market approach with market-based insurance and targeted policies for the “poor/needy” (2) Social capital and local community, e.g. empowerment, capabilities

16. Part 3:The Rise of Migrants as Development Agents and Changing Principles of Social Order

17. Connecting the Four Worlds: Transnational Migration • Transnational social policy - problems: (awareness of) interdependencies, suprastatal authority, belief in effective policies • Migration as a strategic research site for transnational social protection • Migrants connect various “worlds“ and scales: (1) Agents: persons, groups, organizations; (2) Systems: different social protection systems

18. The Virtuous Circle of Migration and Development Rate of Migration Degree of Development • Remittances (individual und collective) • Investments • Transfer of human capital and social remittances

19. Changing Concepts of Social Order Principles of Social Order: Stateness, Market and Community & Civil Society • Stateness and Civil Society National development state  combinations of local state, civil society (NGOs) and international organizations; also: co-développement, diaspora, transnational communities • Market and Civil Society „Market citizen“ as well as participatory/ grass roots approaches

20. Part 4:Social Protection and the (Re-)Production of Social Inequalities

21. Social Protection and Migration • Single most important determinant of life chances is the place (legal citizenship) where a person is born • Social insecurity (existential) and social security: migration may expand a person’s capabilities – livelihood approach and new economics of migration

22. Social Protection inTransnational Social Spaces • Structure: Combinations of functionally highly differentiated institutions AND small groups and networks (e.g. kinship groups, religious communities) • Resources: financial remittances; „social remittances“ Nonetheless: „brain drain“ in certain sectors • Sectors: Central for social protection is remittances in sectors such as health and education; construction and small manufacturing

23. Institutional Arrangements • Degree of Formalization • Low --------------------------- High • Friendship networks Families/housheolds/ • Kinship groups • Hometown Associations • Cultural Associations • Rotating Credit Associations • Funeral Societies (based on reciprocity) • Issue Networks • NGOs (INGOS, HRINGOS) • Religious Communities • STATES: • Bi- and supranational conventions • Extra-territorial social rights

24. The (Re-)Production of Social Inequalities: An Example • Transnational personal care services market linking social protection in regions of origin and destination; e.g. care migration Romania / Ukraine – Italy • “Care drain“/“social orphans“– reorganization of care in immigration and emigration regions (kinship; market) – problems: aged/children

25. Mechanisms Generating Inequalities - Some Examples -

26. Future Research • Questionable concept: “remittances“ • Intersectional patterns of the generation of inequality: class-ization, gender-ization, ethnic-ization

27. Perspectival Social Inequalities • Empirical finding: Social inequalities (1) may increase on one scale (e.g. household) but may decrease on another (e.g. regions) (2) different positions in various contexts (emigration vs. immigration) and transnational reference system • Normative question: Tolerate “small inequalities“ to address “bigger inequalities“?

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