A Broader Conception of “Settler” States: The Impact of Immigration and Race

Settler countries have become what they are through land theft, genocide, oppression of Indigenous People, and enslavement. Those who remain, including African descendants and Indigenous, continue to be seen as unable to attain the education or class status that would give them access to the “fruits of modernity” and are thus excluded from the opportunity to become equal citizens. What is critically important to our understanding of these processes is that they are not limited to “settler” societies like the US, Canada and Australia. Both settler colonial and European countries have histories of dehumanizing those who would come to their countries. The underlying question that I’m trying to address in this article is, what are the key factors driving the development of countries into nation-states with their current day immigration policies, and how those developments are impacted by historical processes of racialization. Theories that try to explain global migration flows often focus on South to North or South-South migration – however, a more global approach needs to include North-South migration that has impacted the development of countries throughout the Western hemisphere (and beyond).