This volume investigates the complex interplay between human migration patterns and the subsequent transformation of ethnic identity and political stability within host societies. Edited by Brian M. Du Toit and Helen I. Safa, the work compiles research presented at the 1973 International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. The contributors utilize cross-cultural data to argue that migration acts as a catalyst for both social integration and the intensification of ethnic-based political conflict, providing a framework for understanding how displaced populations navigate new sociopolitical landscapes.

Experts recognize this volume as a significant historical record of anthropological thought regarding migration during the early 1970s. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which reflects the rigorous, scholarly nature of the original conference proceedings.