Transnational Flows and Permissive Polities examines how legality and
other sources of authority intersect in the regulation of human
mobility. The book focuses on the ethnographic exploration of the
experiences and views of mobile subjects in the vast and rapidly
changing continent of Asia. The contributors analyze tensions between
the letter of the law and social legitimation, territorial boundaries
and commodity flows, state practices and migrant subjectivities, and
labour brokerage and national and international organizations. This
volume offers key insights for students of globalization and
transnationality and policy relevance for development practitioners,
governments, and NGOs.