It is amazing to get to celebrate the success of our students. But this one is really special: a shout-out goes out to our first-year graduate student, Rafia Akter, who published a book chapter on the intersection of migration and geopolitics in the triangular relationship between the United States, Taiwan, and China (co-authored with Ali Hooks from Texas Tech University). The chapter is part of the Springer Handbook of Migration, International Relations and Security in Asia (edited by AKM Ahsan Ullah).
In this chapter, Rafia Akter and Ali Hooks examine how shifting diplomatic tensions, economic policies, and regional strategies have shaped patterns of labor migration, student mobility, and skilled migration across East Asia. Drawing from historical analysis and contemporary data, the chapter highlights how US immigration policies have responded to changing strategic priorities, particularly the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and subsequent US-China engagement. It also explores how Taiwan has navigated diplomatic isolation through adaptive immigration strategies and how the Belt and Road Initiative has reconfigured migration corridors across Southeast Asia. The chapter contends that migration is not merely a consequence of policy but a lens through which we can understand power dynamics, national identity, and global interdependence. Migration emerges as both a geopolitical instrument and a human experience that reflects resilience, aspiration, and political transformation.
Congratulations, Rafia!