Challenging the borders of difference and inequality: Power in migration as a social movement for global justice

In this chapter, we draw on literature in the criminology of mobility, critical citizenship studies and social movements to argue that neoliberal hierarchies of mobility and rights both reflect and produce difference and inequality. We link this development with the changing character of nation-states under globalization and the increasingly multi-scalar character of power, arguing that the nation-state must be decentred if we are to engage in effective global change efforts. We contrast the rise of crisis frames and a politics of exclusion with a view of migration as a social movement, an approach that centres human agency and fosters a politics of inclusion. We then examine the implications of this insight and suggest several sources of power that can be utilized by ordinary people to heighten global justice from below: the power of place, the power of processes and the power of people.