Examines whether countries or regions that experience significant outward migration can expect to benefit politically from it. Using a wide variety of methods and data, Jonathon Moses shows how limiting international migration can allow non-democratic regions to maintain their grip on power and how international migration can facilitate political development.

1. Introduction; 2. Toward political development; 3. Linking emigration to political development; 4. Global connections; 5. The free migration regime before WWI; 6. Guest-worker programs after WWII; 7. Limited mobility in the world today; 8. Internal migration; 9. Fellow travellers; 10. Conclusion.

"This is, to my knowledge, the first work that systematically looks at the impact of emigration on political development. It is compelling in its sweeping scope and methodological rigor. Its central message that emigration is good for democracy in sending states is uncomfortable news for our restriction-minded liberal democracies." - Christian Joppke, University of Bern"Jonathon Moses has written an important and timely book. While the topic of migration is now one of the hot topics in comparative politics, most scholars have focused on the effects of immigration into the industrialized world. Of course, this is only half of the story. Moses' interesting and comprehensive analysis teaches us about the other half of the story: What are the effects of people leaving their homes on political and economic development? This book thus makes a significant contribution to the study of comparative politics." - Sven Steinmo, European University Institute"Migration is generally considered to improve the economic well-being of the individual, though its broader effects on society and the polity are poorly understood. In this subtle analysis of emigration and political development, Jonathon Moses opens a new line of inquiry and his findings are original and provocative. Anyone interested in how mobility effects political change will want to read this book." - James F. Hollifield, Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University

Jonathon W. Moses is currently a professor of political science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where he has taught since 1993. Moses has published several books including Ways of Knowing (2007), International Migration: Globalization's Last Frontier (2006) and Norwegian Catch-up: Development and Globalization before World War II (2005). He is a co-editor of European Political Science (EPS). Among his research interests are globalization, international migration, social democracy and the European Union. Among other places, his articles have appeared in the pages of World Development, the Journal of Common Market Studies and Politics and Society.