In this chapter, I will develop some of the interconnections between migration and culture, keeping in mind the themes introduced in the first two chapters. One of the problems of discussing cultural practices within this context is that students of migration, especially, have tended to assume separate and often opposed perspectives that can loosely be described as either ‘culturalist’ or ‘structuralist’ (usually ‘Marxist’, in the latter case). Ethnicity, as a concept, and culture, by association, have been regarded as the province of the former category. For example, Miles (1982) has carefully analysed ‘the ethnic relations problematic’ and criticised its emphasis on cultural differentiation as the primary focus of interest. Such an emphasis fails to identify class divisions within the culturally distinct groups or their interconnection with the wider social formation. He argues that it is important to recognise that members of ethnic groups also have positions in production, and therefore class relations (see esp. pp.67–71).

Nevertheless, Miles sees the significance of the ethnic relations model (a) in pointing out that ethnicity, rather than phenotypical characteristics, can be a source of conflict; (b) in seeing migrants as agents and not simply passive victims; and (c) in demonstrating the connections between economic and political conditions in countries of origin and those in immigrant-receiving countries.