An Appraisal of the Conflict Model of Migration with Reference to Democratic, Development and Demographic Deficits

Migration and the impact of immigrants in receiving countries have been a key concern in many countries. The USA’s restrictions on rights of Mexican immigrants, the role of anti-immigration propaganda behind the Brexit decision in the UK, European countries efforts to curb migration by raising walls are reflections of increasing xenophobia. Such understanding places a lot of emphasis on the destination and benefits in the destination while also focusing mostly on economic aspects. The rights are also open for commodification and applied in a selective fashion while excluding most of ‘others’. Such restrictive approach towards the rights of ‘others’ conis leading to what is called ‘neo-liberal paradox’ and immigration in this context formulated as a problem to be ‘curbed’. However, in the Conflict Model of Migration, the root causes of conflict lies with inequalities, deficits in three areas: The 3Ds (Democratic Deficit, Development Deficit and Demographic Deficit). The 3Ds are in the roots of individuals’ perception of human insecurity. In this study, we statistically show the impact of 3Ds on international migration flows. By distancing itself from perspectives paving way to anti-immigration sentiments, this study focuses on empirical and theoretical exploration of drivers of migration