ISSUE: 1/2023

  • Volume 27
  • Number 1
  • 2023

Subscribe NEWSLETTER

Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs

ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780

Ccbync License

License

Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License

In-betweenness and Migration Interdependence: Lessons from Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine

Abstract

In this paper, we draw on the concepts of in-betweenness and migration interdependence in order to investigate the vulnerability of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine due to their conflicting relations with Russia and the exposure of their economies to remittance flows from the latter. To achieve this goal, we explore whether and how migrant flows and remittance flows have diverged since 2014, when the three states signed their Association Agreements with the EU and their economic relations with Russia deteriorated. In this respect, we examine how interstate relations impact upon migration and remittances flows. After discussing in-betweenness and migration interdependence, we investigate the origin of the remittance inflows in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine and the destination of the migration outflows. We map the development of remittances from the World, Europe, and Russia and relate it with the development of their GDP using longitudinal data. A comparative analysis of our findings suggest that the three cases differ from each other, but, in all three cases, Russia has not used migration interdependence as leverage. We conclude that remittance flows in the three in-between states are more affected by the state of the global economy, the economic situation of Russia, and domestic circumstances rather than from interstate relations.

References

Ademmer, E., Delcour, L. and Wolczuk, K. (2016) “Beyond geopolitics: exploring the impact of the EU and Russia in the ‘contested neighbourhood’”, Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 57(1), pp. 1–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2016.1183221.

BBC News (2019) Georgia Profi le-Timeline. 29.01. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17303471 (Access 26.06.2022).

Bloomfield, A. and Kirkup, A. (2008) “Stay away, Vladimir Putin tells NATO”, The Telegraph. 5.04. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1584027/Stay-away-Vladimir-Putin-tells-Nato.
html (Access 17.06.2022).

Buzan, B. and Wæver, O. (2003) Regions and powers: a guide to the global security order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511491252.

Cadier, D. (2014) Eurasian economic union and eastern partnership: the end of the EU–Russia entredeux in Cadier, D. (ed.) The geopolitics of Eurasian economic integration. London: London School of Economics, pp. 60–65. Available at: http://www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/Assets/Documents/reports/LSE-IDEAS-Geopolitics-of-Eurasian-Economic-Intergration.pdf (Access 17.01.2022).

Całus, K. et al. (2018) Interdependencies of eastern partnership countries with the EU and Russia: three case studies. EU-STRAT Working Papers. No. 10. Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin. Available at: http://eu-strat.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/EU-STRAT-Working-Paper-No.10.pdf (Access 17.06.2022).

Castles, S. (2010) “Understanding global migration: a social transformation perspective”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Vol. 36(10), pp.1565–1586.

Cenusa, D. et al. (2014) Russia’s Punitive Trade Policy Measures Towards Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, CEPS Working Documents, 400. Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies. Available at: https://www.
ceps.eu/ceps-publications/russias-punitive-trade-policy-measurestowards-ukraine-moldova-and-georgia/ (Access 17.06.2022).

Chawryło, K. (2014) Russia tightens up residence regulations for CIS citizens. Center for Eastern Studies. Available at: https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2014-01-15/russia-tightens-residence-regulationscis-citizens (Access 17.01.2022).

Chudinovskikh, O., and Denisenko, M. (2017) Russia: A Migration System with Soviet Roots, Brussels’ Migration Policy Institute. Available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/russia-migration-systemsoviet-roots (Access 17.01.2022).

CIA (2020) The World Factbook 2020. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2010.489381.

De Haas, H. (2014) Migration Theory. Quo Vadis? International Migration Institute Working Papers Series. No 100. Oxford: International Migration Institute, University of Oxford.

Delcour, L. and Całus, K. (2018) Moldova in Całus, K. et al. (eds.) Interdependencies of eastern partnership countries with the EU and Russia: three case studies, EU-STRAT Working Papers. No. 10, pp. 11–26. Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin. Available at: http://eu-strat.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/EU-STRAT-Working-Paper-No.10.pdf (Access 17.06.2022).

Dembińska, M. and Smith, D. (2021) “Navigating in-between the EU and Russia”, Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 62(3), pp. 247–263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2021.1932544.

Dragneva, R. and Wolczuk, K. (2016) “Between dependence and integration: Ukraine’s relations with Russia”, Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 68(4), pp. 678–698. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2016.1173200.

Feklyunina, V. (2016) “Soft power and identity: Russia, Ukraine and the ‘Russian world(s)’”, European Journal of International Relations. Vol. 22(4), pp. 773–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066115601200.

Gazizullin, I., Delcour, L. and Jaroszewicz, M. (2018) Introduction in Całus, K. et al. (eds.) Interdependencies of eastern partnership countries with the EU and Russia: three case studies. EU-STRAT Working Papers. No. 10, pp. 7–10. Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin. Available at: http://eu-strat.
eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/EU-STRAT-Working-Paper-No.10.pdf (Access 17.06.2022).

Gerber, T.P. and Torosyan, K. (2010) Remittances in Georgia: Correlates, Economic Impact, and Social Capital Formation. Working Paper Series. Tbilisi: International School of Economics in Tbilisi.

Gnedina, E. (2015) “Multi-vector’ foreign policies in Europe: balancing, bandwagoning or bargaining?”, Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 67(7), pp. 1007–1029. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2015.1066313.

Griffiths, T.R. (2014) Economic Security and Size in Archer, C., Bailes, A.J., and Wivel, A. (eds.) Small States and International Security: Europe and Beyond. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315798042-3.

Hristev, E. et al. (2009) The effects of Migration and Remittances in Rural Moldova, CASE Network Studies and Analyses. No. 389. Warsaw: CASE.

IOM (2009) Economic Downturn Reduces Remittances and Slows Migration Flows. International Organization for Migration. 25.05. Available at: https://www.iom.int/news/economic-downturn-reduces-remittancesand-slows-migration-fl ows (Access 24.09.2021).

Keohane, R.O. and Nye Jr., J.S. (1973) “Power and interdependence”, Survival. Vol. 15(4), pp. 158–165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00396337308441409.

Kupets, O. (2012) The development and the side effects of remittances in the CIS countries: The case of Ukraine. CARIM-East Research report. 2012/02. San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute.

Luecke, M., Omar Mahmoud, T. and Pinger, P. (2007) Patterns and trends of migration and remittances in Moldova. Chisinau: IOM.

Massey, D.S. et al. (1998) Worlds in Motion, Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millenium. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Morar, Ș. and Dembińska, M. (2021) “Between the West and Russia: Moldova’s international brokers in a two-level game”, Eurasian

Geography and Economics. Vol. 62(3), pp. 293–318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2020.1836984.

Mykhnenko, V. (2020) “Causes and Consequences of the War in Eastern Ukraine: An Economic Geography Perspective”, Europe-Asia Studies. Vol. 72(3), pp. 528–560. DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2019.1684447.

NATO (2008) Bucharest Summit Declaration. Press Release 049. 3.04. Available at: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/offi cial_texts_8443.htm (Access 26.6.2020).

Nizhnikau, R. (2016) “When Goliath meets Goliath: how Russia and the EU created a vicious circle of instability in Moldova”, Global Affairs. Vol. 2(2), pp. 203–216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2016.1189131.

Pantiru, M.C., Black, R. and Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2007) Migration and poverty reduction in Moldova, Working paper. C10. Brighton: Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty.

Pedi, R. (2020) Small states in Europe as a buffer between East and West in Baldacchino, G. and Wivel, A. (eds.) Handbook on the politics of small states. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788112932.00018.

Peković, D. (2017) “The effects of remittances on poverty alleviation in transition countries”, Journal of International Studies. Vol. 10(4), pp. 37–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2017/10-4/2.

Ratha, D. (2017) What Are Remittances? Finance and Development. Back to Basics. Economics in Action. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484320921.022.

Rotaru, V. (2018) “Forced attraction? How Russia is instrumentalizing its soft power sources in the ‘near abroad’”, Problems of Post-Communism. Vol. 65(1), pp. 37–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2016.1276400.

Ruiz, I., and Vargas-Silva, C. (2014) “Remittances and the Business Cycle: A Reliable Relationship?”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Vol. 40(3), pp. 456–474, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.787704.

Shelburne, R., and Palacin, J. (2007) Remittances in the CIS: Their Economic Implications and a New Estimation Procedure. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Discussion Paper Series No. 2007, 5.11.2007. Geneva, Switzerland: UNECE.

State Commission on Migration Issues (2016) Brief Migration Profile. Remittances. Available at: http://migration.commission.ge/files/eng.pdf (Access 30.08.2019).

Stratan, A. et al. (2013) Development and side effects of remittances in the CIS countries: the case of Republic of Moldova, CARIM-East Research report 2013/02. San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute.

Streeten, P. (1993) “The special problems of small countries”, World Development. Vol. 21(2), pp. 197–202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(93)90014-Z.

Su, Y., and Lim Mangada, L. (2018) “A tide that does not lift all boats: the surge of remittances in post-disaster recovery in Tacloban City, Philippines”, Critical Asian Studies. Vol. 50(1), pp. 67–85. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2017.1401935.

Torbakov, I. (2013) The European Union, Russia and the ‘in-between Europe’: managing interdependence in Cierco, T. (ed.) The European Union neighbourhood: challenges and opportunities. London: Routledge,
pp. 173–190.

Trenin, D. (2009) “Russia’s spheres of interest, not influence”, The Washington Quarterly. Vol. 32(4), pp. 3–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01636600903231089.

Tsourapas, G. (2018) “Labor migrants as political leverage: migration interdependence and coercion in the Mediterranean”, International Studies Quarterly. Vol. 62(2), pp. 383–395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqx088.

Tukhashvili, M. and Shelia, M. (2012). The impact of labor emigration and the demographic and economic development of Georgia in the post-Soviet period. CARIM-East Research report 2012/29. San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2017) International Migrant Stock 2017. United Nations Database POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2019.

Urinboyev, R. (2021) Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes. Berkley: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520971257.

Vošta, M., Musiyenko, S. and Abrhá m, J. (2016) “Ukraine-EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area as Part of Eastern Partnership initiative”, Journal of International Studies. Vol. 9(3), pp. 21–35. DOI:
10.14254/2071-8330.2016/9-3/2.

Wivel, A. (2016) “Living on the edge: Georgian foreign policy between the West and the rest”, Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal. Vol. 1(1), pp. 92–109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23802014.2016.1194168.

World Bank Group (2017) Migration and Remittances Data. Washington, DC: World Bank. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/migration-remittances-data
(Access 26.06.2020).

World Bank Group (2018a) Georgia: From Reformer to Performer. Systematic Country Diagnostic. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2018b) Migration and Remittances: Recent Developments and Outlook – Transit Migration, Migration and Development Brief. No. 29. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2019) The World Bank in Moldova. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank Group (2020) World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank. Available at: https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators (Access 10.01.2023).

Language: English

Pages: 127-148

How to Cite:

Harvard

Blouchoutzi, A. and Pedi, R. (2023) "In-betweenness and Migration Interdependence: Lessons from Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 1/2023, pp. 127-148. DOI: 10.33067/SE.1.2023.6

APA
Chicago