UC San Diego

Current trends in immigration policy suggest that international cooperation policies are becoming increasingly common as a means for nation-states to attain their immigration policy objectives. This thesis aims to analyze the impacts of these policies on the communities and individuals involved by examining the micro-level effects of bilateral agreements and co-development projects between Ecuador and Spain through a study of the communities involved in the Cañar-Murcia Co-development Project (CMCP). The CMCP is a co-government funded pilot model designed to facilitate the economic and social development in the migrants' community of origin and their community of residence. It is comprised of a large number of state and non-state actors - including the migrants themselves - at the national, provincial and local level of both countries. The specific aim of this thesis is to determine the degree to which the CMCP has been implemented, present the obstacles it has faced, and to then analyze its effect on the members of the Cañari populations in both Cañar and Murcia. I then look at the impacts of the project on social networks, transnational activities, migration patterns, and integration. I find that the success of these types of projects depends largely on the existing political, social and cultural situations in both communities, as conflicts can be created or exacerbated with the power and money introduced by these projects