Explaining Migration: Theory at the Crossroads

Abstract

Since the past century, the object of the study of migration theory has been of increasing interest for the most diversified social disciplines. For that reason, a great number of definitions and explanatory typologies have been developed, from different theoretical perspectives, in an attempt to identify the scope and limits of migration. This article proposes that as a consequence of the interest in population movements, a "theoretical crisis" has arisen. In order to sustain that claim, the author presents the positions stated by the most distinguished writers of different disciplines and ideological currents, and points out the manifestation of problems of basic definitions and the terminology employed, as well as the efforts being made at patterns of population movements. As a general conclusion, the author indicates the need to find clear analytical dimensions for organizing the classification of the types of migration and explaining their origins.