Although globalization seems like a recent phenomenon linked to migration, some groups have used social networks to migrate great distances for centuries. To gain new insights into migration today, Modern Migrations takes a closer look at the historical presence of globalization and how it organized migration and social networks. With a focus on the lives of Gujarati Indians in New York and London, this book explains migration patterns through different kinds of social networks and relations.

Gujarati migration flows span four continents, across several centuries. Maritsa Poros  reveals the inner workings of their social networks and how these networks relate to migration flows. Championing a relational view, she examines the kinds of ties prevalent in the different niches that Gujaratis occupy in the economies of New York and London, from shopkeepers to diamond dealers and doctors. In the process she speaks to central debates in the field about the economic and cultural roots of the causes of migration and its surprising consequences.

Modern Migrations will be of interest to anyone who has thought about India’s rich history of trade and migration and the kinds of lives that Indian immigrants live in places like New York and London. It will be useful for students and scholars of migration studies.