Given the ever-growing significance of transnational migration, and particularly in light of recent political discourse on immigration and integration in Europe and the United States, two recent anthologies offer important and timely analysis from a practical sociocultural perspective: Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice, edited by Yap Mui Teng, Gillian Koh, and Debbie Soon, and Immigration in Singapore, edited by Norman Vasu, Yeap Su Yin, and Chan Wen Ling. Singapore makes a striking case study: according to the latest census (in 2010), only 57 percent of the city-state's residents are local-born citizens. Another 7 percent are naturalized foreigners, 11 percent are non-citizen “permanent residents,” and a full 25 percent are temporary foreign guests.

Both books revolve around a central paradox. Singapore aspires to be a prosperous global city, and while immigration is essential to the economic, demographic, and political success of the nation, it also challenges...

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