If migrants were a country, they'd be the 5th largest in the world. This is a hilariously disenfranchised group. Humanity has put itself into a nativist zugzwang since Westphalia: you move you lose. Instant demotion from human to subhuman.
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Thought experiment: what would it take to organize migrants into a sort of virtual second-order nation? You prove you've lived/worked in 2+ countries, you get a "Globalist" passport that gets you some sort of recognition and privileges in the interstices of world. Like seasteads.
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Do migrants as a class have any sort of collective action leverage against nations/nativists? You can't work within the vote-based representation system since most don't have voting rights. But could you, for instance, call a global migrant "strike" for example? (answer: no)
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This is going to be an increasingly critical problem as climate change drives up more migration, and more people enter relationships that create families spanning continents.
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It is interesting that 'non-state actor' and 'stateless actor' are basically synonyms for 'terrorist'. That's the starting perception you're working out of in terms of constructing legal personhood on this planet you cannot leave.
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Ironically, "migrant" is probably the only identity that evokes anything comparable to a sentiment like "nationalism" for me. Having crossed a significant border (or being born to someone who has) is a serious bond with others who've done the same, regardless of race etc.
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I've been mulling the idea of a traveller's rights interest group (inspired by http://airpassengerrights.ca ). Even us lifelong citizens get hugely disenfranchised anytime we go near a border or int'l flight gate. Would align nicely with IHEU.
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So true! I love this idea.
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I wonder if the rise of nationalism since about 1900 has a lot to do with this too. The countries of Europe did not define themselves by ethnicity in the same way prior to then.
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Do you have any essays on this?
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