German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
Location
Hamburg
Abstract
This piece is both an exercise in critical conceptual landscaping in the field of Migration Studies and the proposal of an analytical framework that can correct some of its most serious biases. The framework I propose allows the observing of migration policies as if they constituted a comprehensive policy field. This will permit comparisons across the whole spectrum of migration policies on a rigorous basis, and for all countries and regions. I identify two constitutive sides to the proposed framework, each dealing with how state‐like polities regulate the mobility of incoming or outgoing persons. I further suggest that it include regulations on the rights of individuals to pass through three stages of any international migration journey: the right to enter/exit; the rights as immigrant residents/emigrant non‐residents; and, the rights to citizenship and nationality. This comprehensive framework for studying migration policy promises advances for empirical agendas, but also for connecting them to normative ones rooted in global justice and democratic concerns.
In 2023, German and European authorities expect refugee numbers to rise further. Whether existing attitudes towards refugees in Germany can be changed by positive or negative statements made about their further admission in future is discussed in this Focus Global.
The EU's dominant perception of migration as a "crisis" is extremely Eurocentric, as migration to the EU is minimal compared to other regions of the world. How do non-EU states such as Tunisia and Turkey, view not only migration movements perceived as “critical” within the EU but also the ensuing migration agreements?
In a world with over 70 million people registered as forcibly displaced, governing migration has long been high on the European Union’s agenda. This Focus provides insights from the research project SYRMAGINE into refugees’ mobility and decision-making that can help shape migration policies.
