My work examines the role of immigration and citizenship regimes in generating inequalities from a global perspective. More specifically, I explore the lived experiences of temporary migration systems from a multigenerational lens, focusing on strategies individuals and families develop to secure long-term stability—such as acquiring a better passport or permanent residency. By anchoring this work in the Arab Gulf region, home to the world’s largest South-South immigration corridor, I uncover new and often invisible stratifications within the ‘global South’ and their implications for complex, onward global migration journeys, and for the meaning and value of citizenship.
Since 2021, I have focused on the experiences of aging migrants and their life plans after retirement in the United Arab Emirates. In light of new visa reforms and voluntary pension schemes, I examine decision-making processes around where to retire and how to achieve financial security in old age. This work uncovers the complex interdependencies between younger and older generations, portraying retirement as a “family matter” in the Gulf.
| Migration Reasearch Hub ID: 4711 | |
| ORCID | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6407-5939 |
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/idil-akıncı-1a4611181/ | |
Expertise
Migration processes
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Migration drivers
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Migration forms
Migration consequences (for migrants, sending and receiving countries)
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Socio-cultural consequences
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Socio-economic consequences
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Transversal consequences
Migration governance
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Migration policy and law
Cross-cutting topics in migration research
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Migration research and theory
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Transversal themes
Disciplines
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Disciplines
Geographies
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UN Countries
Roles
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University of Edinburgh
University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Lecturer in Social Policy
Research
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Suggested Research
Dressing the nation? Symbolizing Emirati national identity and boundaries through national dress
| Authors | Idil Akinci |
| Year | 2019 |
| Journal Name | Ethnic and Racial Studies |
Culture in the ‘politics of identity’: conceptions of national identity and citizenship among second-generation non-Gulf Arab migrants in Dubai
| Authors | Idil Akinci |
| Year | 2019 |
| Journal Name | Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |
Migrant Dubai: low wage workers and the construction of a global city
| Authors | Idil Akinci |
| Year | 2016 |
| Journal Name | Ethnic and Racial Studies |
Everyday conversions: Islam, domestic work, and South Asian migrant women in Kuwait
| Authors | Idil Akinci |
| Year | 2018 |
| Journal Name | Ethnic and Racial Studies |