3.8 - Tensions and responses to globalisation

Diasporas and uneven experiences of change

More open economic connections can support thriving migrant communities while exposing differences in how people experience rapid change.

Less restrictive borders can make migration easier; deregulation and encouragement of FDI can attract firms and increase labour demand. Migrants then create businesses, cultural associations, places of worship and support networks. These can help newcomers find housing or work, and connect host cities to source markets through remittances and trade. Diasporas are internally diverse: generations, classes and individuals maintain different identities and levels of connection.

Changes in employment, housing and neighbourhood culture can create tensions if costs and benefits are uneven or public services adapt slowly. A resident facing expensive housing may associate it with arrivals, even when underbuilding, investment and planning also matter. Political actors and media can frame insecurity as a loss of national control. Nationalism prioritises the nation and its interests; extreme nationalism can define belonging narrowly and exclude or stigmatise groups. Economic insecurity, identity and political narratives can reinforce one another, but neither migration nor globalisation makes intolerance inevitable.

France's National Rally received 23.34% in the 2019 European Parliament election and 31.37% in June 2024, according to the official results published by the European Parliament. This is a rise of 8.03 percentage points in support for a party associated with nationalist politics, not a measure of every voter's motivation or proof that migration caused its support. Explaining extreme nationalism requires policy positions and local economic context as well as electoral trends. European Parliament, France 2019 results, 2024 results.

Avoid treating host residents as one anti-immigration group or migrants as one pro-globalisation group. An employer may favour recruitment, a union may favour strong rights for both migrant and resident workers, and a community organisation may seek better services rather than fewer arrivals.

Government control of information, people and trade

Governments can regulate selected global flows while continuing to participate in others, so control does not necessarily mean complete isolation.

Censorship restricts access to or publication of information. China's internet filtering can block sites or requests and require platforms to remove content, limiting some international information flows while its economy remains connected through trade and investment. Research on China's DNS filtering illustrates how network mechanisms can interrupt access; it does not mean every global connection is blocked. Original measurement research, 2021. Governments may justify control through security or social stability; critics emphasise expression, access to knowledge and accountability. Different values help explain different attitudes to the same action.

Immigration controls can include visa conditions, salary or skill thresholds, caps and family rules. The UK's spring 2024 changes restricted dependants for newly arriving care workers and increased the general Skilled Worker salary threshold, with exceptions and transitional rules. This is a historical policy example, not current immigration advice. The government's impact assessment anticipated reduced availability of migrant care workers: restricting arrivals may meet a political objective while making recruitment harder. UK Home Office impact assessment, spring 2024.

Trade protectionism uses tariffs, quotas or other restrictions to protect domestic activities. A tariff raises the cost of an imported product and may shift demand toward domestic firms. Workers in a competing industry may benefit, but consumers and businesses using imports can face higher prices. Trading partners may retaliate, harming exporters. Subsidies or procurement rules can also favour domestic supply. Effects depend on supply capacity, price responsiveness and the product's place in wider supply chains.