SYSTEMS, SITUATIONS AND THE INDIVIDUAL: AN INTEGRATED VIEW OF ALIENATION AS RELATED TO MIGRANTS Available to Purchase

Statistics of migration are gross indicators of the extent to which governments have persistently initiated and enabled (or prevented) in‐ and out‐migration (Castles, 1984; International Labour Office, 1969; 1989; Lucassen, 1987). In the sociological literature, people who move are summarily described as ‘strangers,’ ‘sojourners,’ ‘marginal persons,’ ‘guest workers,’ ‘asylum‐seekers,’ ‘resettlers,’ or ‘refugees’ (Emminghaus, 1989; Siu, 1952; Wolff, 1950). Alienation is attributed to all of these. Government programs are often planned with a view to easing alienation. Yet, few of the programs have been derived from a comprehensive theoretical perspective or based on valid research. In order to determine what kinds of policies and programs can and should be effected, it will be useful to look at diverse meanings of alienation, the types of research that are implied by these meanings, and the likely effects of alienation on human lives.