MIGRATION AND TERRITORIAL DYNAMICS IN BORDER REGIONS: CULTURE, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND PUBLIC POLICIES

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical contributions that connect migration, border, culture, regional development and public policy, with emphasis on the territorial dynamics produced in border regions. The study adopts a qualitative bibliographic approach based on the analytical reading of classic and contemporary works in sociology, geography, political science and development studies. The central argument is that migratory flows cannot be understood in isolation, since they are linked to the social production of territory, the negotiation of identities, the circulation of cultural practices and the institutional strategies of regulation and planning. By reviewing authors such as Sayad, Castles and Miller, Portes, Raffestin, Foucher, Grimson, Haesbaert, Boisier, Sen, Perroux and Furtado, the text shows that the border goes beyond a geopolitical limit and becomes a relational space marked by mobility, cooperation, conflict and the recomposition of belonging. The discussion also highlights that regional development, when approached from a territorial perspective, requires public policies that are sensitive to the sociocultural specificities of border spaces. It concludes that an interdisciplinary approach broadens the analytical capacity of migration studies and provides stronger foundations for understanding inequality, interdependence and development possibilities in border contexts.