"Migrant" didn't exist as a category until modernity. Before that you had refugees, invaders, slaves, and merchants/sailors (not counting nomads). In the 1300s there were 2 people who didn't fit those special categories (Ibn Batuta, Petrarch,...). Now: 244m, 3% of world.
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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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This is a really interesting observation! Do you think there is some kind of solution in reciprocal recognition/granting of rights? (which I guess is part of the point of the EU)
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I guess that might not really work given very large income disparities between countries; most rich world migrants to the developing world are there for a couple of years to have interesting experiences whereas the other way round is more often "seeking a new life"
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