Development Studies

In order to manage the long-term challenges of global migration, Europe must create effective and coherent policies for engaging with countries of origin and transit. Effectiveness and cohesion depend on the real-world mechanisms at work: How do the root causes of migration operate? What do prospective migrants see as alternatives to migration? How do policy measures interact with other factors in shaping migration outcomes? Because the quality of policies is so intimately connected with the actual development-related causes and consequences of migration, MIGNEX addresses the full scope of the topic as described in the Work Programme. The project’s overall objective is to contribute to more effective and coherent migration management through evidence-based understanding of the linkages between development and migration. Steps toward this objective comprise extensive research in ten strategically relevant countries of origin and transit, including Afghanistan, Guinea, Somalia, Nigeria and Turkey. The project team will conduct a survey with a target sample of 12,500 individuals, in addition to qualitative data collection and policy analysis. Correctly identifying two-way causal mechanisms between migration and development is imperative but very difficult. The project design incorporates two innovative responses to this challenge. First, it follows a principle of disaggregation, which, among other things, entails specific attention to local-level mechanisms. Second, the analysis combines conventional methods, such as multivariate regression, with Qualitative Comparative Analysis, which is a technique that allows for identifying complex causal relationship on the basis of in-depth case studies. In the analysis of policy coherence, the consortium will focus on identifying the causes of incoherence. The proposal clearly specifies three primary expected impacts and sets out an ambitious and professional strategy for impact maximization.

In the hope of regulating migratory flows, the European Council endorsed a “global approach” to migration in December 2005, an approach which is based on the correction of the “deep causes of migration”: poverty, unemployment and development gaps between North and South. Besides liberalising economies and trade systems, a set of measures are advocated in order to enhance home countries’ development by using “migration [as a] medicine against migration”: stimulating the remittance of funds back to the country of origin; expanding the role of diasporas settled in member states; reinforcing circular migration schemes and facilitating return movements; and improving the management of the emigration of the highly-skilled in order to curb “brain drain”. The paper focuses on the Arab South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries. It challenges the views, implicit in EU migration policies, that migration is entirely rooted in economics and that migrants’ agency alone is able to spur development in the origin country. Using the theoretical background of political economy with a neo-institutional approach to migration, it explores the stakes, the outreaches and the outcomes of the migration and development nexus. By so doing, it re-politicizes migration and development and emphasises the structural and contextual dimension of factors pushing on migration and hampering development: unemployment and high professional turn over; economic liberalisation and deregulation policies, and socio-political “blockages” (gender inequalities, patronage, clientelism and corruption, lack of public expression). Moreover, the analysis of SEM country practices in the field of migration management and engineering migration for development shows how the design of policies and the channelling of flows respond to political and demographic stakes in the various national contexts. Migration patterns act as a political shield for regimes in the region that: allows these regimes to monitor political opposition; renews socio-cultural elites; and decreases the economic opportunities in national economies, due to corruption and patronage. Current policies also reconstruct state-society/expatriates relations, through (controlled) economic participation and socio-cultural solidarity. They do not, however, lead to political participation. The paper thus concludes that amendments to macro-political contexts in the SEM countries are more likely than liberalisation policies to curb emigration flows, by engineering global social and political development. As a matter of fact, the onset and patterns of the Arab revolutions since December 2010 aptly confirm the need for political reform in the region. Adoptée par le Conseil européen en décembre 2005, l’Approche globale des migrations est axée sur la correction des « causes profondes de la migration » (la pauvreté, le chômage, les écarts de développement entre nord et sud) afin d’en réguler les flux. Parmi les mesures préconisées figurent la facilitation de l’envoi de fonds vers les pays d’origine (transparence des coûts, développement de l’accès aux services financiers), l’encouragement du rôle des diasporas implantées dans les États membres (aider les pays en développement à identifier leur diaspora et à établir des liens), le renforcement de la migration circulaire et la facilitation du retour, une meilleure gestion des migrations de personnes hautement qualifiées afin de limiter la « fuite des cerveaux ». Cette étude traite des pays arabes du sud et de l’est de la Méditerranée (SEM). Elle met en question les représentations, contenues dans les politiques migratoires de l’UE, de la migration comme facteur purement économique, mais aussi des migrants comme agents d’un développement à grande échelle dans leurs pays d’origine. Le cadre théorique de l’économie politique et les approches néo-institutionnelles des migrations, utilisés ici, permettent de dégager les enjeux et la portée du lien entre migration et développement sur le terrain arabe. L’étude ‘re-politise’ ces deux processus. Elle met en relief la dimension structurelle des facteurs déclenchant l’émigration et entravant les processus de développement : les caractéristiques du marché du travail, les politiques de libéralisation des économies et les « blocages » sociopolitiques (inégalités hommes-femmes, clientélisme et corruption, obstacles à l’expression publique). En outre, l’analyse des politiques migratoires menées dans les pays du SEM montre que ces mesures répondent aux enjeux politiques et démographiques particuliers aux divers contextes nationaux de la région. Elles permettent aux régimes en place de contrôler l’opposition politique, le renouvellement des élites socioculturelles et les conséquences de la contraction des opportunités économiques, due à la corruption et au clientélisme. Les politiques migratoires participent également d’une restructuration des relations États-sociétés-expatriés autour d’une participation économique (étroitement contrôlée) et d’une solidarité socioculturelle, mais excluant toute participation politique. L’étude conclut donc que des réformes des contextes sociaux et politiques dans les pays du SEM seraient plus à même d’agir sur les flux migratoires que les réformes néolibérales. Le déclenchement des révoltes arabes en décembre 2010 confirme d’ailleurs l’urgence de ces réformes politiques.

In the hope of regulating migratory flows, the European Council endorsed a “global approach” to migration in December 2005, an approach which is based on the correction of the “deep causes of migration”: poverty, unemployment and development gaps between North and South. Besides liberalising economies and trade systems, a set of measures are advocated in order to enhance home countries’ development by using “migration [as a] medicine against migration”: stimulating the remittance of funds back to the country of origin; expanding the role of diasporas settled in member states; reinforcing circular migration schemes and facilitating return movements; and improving the management of the emigration of the highly-skilled in order to curb “brain drain”. The paper focuses on the Arab South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries. It challenges the views, implicit in EU migration policies, that migration is entirely rooted in economics and that migrants’ agency alone is able to spur development in the origin country. Using the theoretical background of political economy with a neo-institutional approach to migration, it explores the stakes, the outreaches and the outcomes of the migration and development nexus. By so doing, it re-politicizes migration and development and emphasises the structural and contextual dimension of factors pushing on migration and hampering development: unemployment and high professional turn over; economic liberalisation and deregulation policies, and socio-political “blockages” (gender inequalities, patronage, clientelism and corruption, lack of public expression). Moreover, the analysis of SEM country practices in the field of migration management and engineering migration for development shows how the design of policies and the channelling of flows respond to political and demographic stakes in the various national contexts. Migration patterns act as a political shield for regimes in the region that: allows these regimes to monitor political opposition; renews socio-cultural elites; and decreases the economic opportunities in national economies, due to corruption and patronage. Current policies also reconstruct state-society/expatriates relations, through (controlled) economic participation and socio-cultural solidarity. They do not, however, lead to political participation. The paper thus concludes that amendments to macro-political contexts in the SEM countries are more likely than liberalisation policies to curb emigration flows, by engineering global social and political development. As a matter of fact, the onset and patterns of the Arab revolutions since December 2010 aptly confirm the need for political reform in the region. Adoptée par le Conseil européen en décembre 2005, l’Approche globale des migrations est axée sur la correction des « causes profondes de la migration » (la pauvreté, le chômage, les écarts de développement entre nord et sud) afin d’en réguler les flux. Parmi les mesures préconisées figurent la facilitation de l’envoi de fonds vers les pays d’origine (transparence des coûts, développement de l’accès aux services financiers), l’encouragement du rôle des diasporas implantées dans les États membres (aider les pays en développement à identifier leur diaspora et à établir des liens), le renforcement de la migration circulaire et la facilitation du retour, une meilleure gestion des migrations de personnes hautement qualifiées afin de limiter la « fuite des cerveaux ». Cette étude traite des pays arabes du sud et de l’est de la Méditerranée (SEM). Elle met en question les représentations, contenues dans les politiques migratoires de l’UE, de la migration comme facteur purement économique, mais aussi des migrants comme agents d’un développement à grande échelle dans leurs pays d’origine. Le cadre théorique de l’économie politique et les approches néo-institutionnelles des migrations, utilisés ici, permettent de dégager les enjeux et la portée du lien entre migration et développement sur le terrain arabe. L’étude ‘re-politise’ ces deux processus. Elle met en relief la dimension structurelle des facteurs déclenchant l’émigration et entravant les processus de développement : les caractéristiques du marché du travail, les politiques de libéralisation des économies et les « blocages » sociopolitiques (inégalités hommes-femmes, clientélisme et corruption, obstacles à l’expression publique). En outre, l’analyse des politiques migratoires menées dans les pays du SEM montre que ces mesures répondent aux enjeux politiques et démographiques particuliers aux divers contextes nationaux de la région. Elles permettent aux régimes en place de contrôler l’opposition politique, le renouvellement des élites socioculturelles et les conséquences de la contraction des opportunités économiques, due à la corruption et au clientélisme. Les politiques migratoires participent également d’une restructuration des relations États-sociétés-expatriés autour d’une participation économique (étroitement contrôlée) et d’une solidarité socioculturelle, mais excluant toute participation politique. L’étude conclut donc que des réformes des contextes sociaux et politiques dans les pays du SEM seraient plus à même d’agir sur les flux migratoires que les réformes néolibérales. Le déclenchement des révoltes arabes en décembre 2010 confirme d’ailleurs l’urgence de ces réformes politiques.

L’objectif de la recherche en cours est double : d’une part revisiter les relations migration/développement en les inscrivant dans la circulation migratoire, et en portant un intérêt particulier aux transformations des sociétés liées aux interactions spatiales et sociales en matière de développement local, économique, social et politique, tant dans les pays de départ que d’arrivée. D’autre part, analyser les processus originaux par lesquels les migrants et leurs enfants s’inscrivent dans la société française tout en maintenant, voire en développant, des formes multiples d’appartenance, d’identification et d’engagement public, tant vis-à-vis de leurs espaces de vie que de ceux d’origine des familles. Les différentes formes de circulation et d’ancrage, les logiques et les enjeux qui les sous-tendent, seront analysés au-delà de la dualité « immigré-étranger » ou « assimilation-retour ». Nous proposons pour cela de travailler sur la notion d’appartenance (à la fois au sens d’adhésion volontaire et de sentiment), dont la plasticité permet de s’adapter en fonction de la capacité à circuler ou faire circuler, et qui renvoie aux notions d’ancrage territorial, d’identités multiples, et d’engagement. Cette recherche-action a donc pour objectif de dépasser les approches dichotomiques qui s’interrogent sur « l’intégration » des populations lorsqu’elles traitent du mouvement associatif « issu de l’immigration », et orientent ces populations vers une obligation de retour lorsqu’elles abordent la question du développement. Il s’agira alors de saisir, dans le même mouvement, processus de circulations et d’ancrages, tant du point de vue des populations migrantes et de leurs enfants, que de celui de leurs partenaires institutionnels.

The labour migration has been a paramount phenomenon that has affected Moldova’s society in numerous ways over the last decade. In response to this development the country’s institutional set-up and policy framework evolved significantly. The current state of policy thinking on migration is increasingly driven by the following factors: consolidation of the role of state in managing the developments in this area; progressive adjustment to European policy framework; strengthening of the migration-development nexus and attempts at leveraging human and financial capital of Diaspora into development; fight against illegal migration that appear to be of strong concern for both international community and Moldovan society. At the same time the institutional set-up and policy framework remained disparate and not enough correlated with each other. The newly drafted National Strategy on Migration and Asylum apparently should address these challenges and bridge the existing gaps. Moreover, the Strategy seeks to link realm of migration and asylum to the general development policy framework of the country. Thus, the Strategy marks a new stage in development of the migration management in Moldova and should address the migration-driven challenges in a comprehensive manner and in full compliance with the European commitments of the country.

This study explores factors that initiate and perpetuate low skill labour migration from India to the EU, examines the migration processes and evaluates the policy prescriptions available to manage such migration flows. Based on a survey of the available quantitative and qualitative evidence, our study points to the existence of a fairly stable and persistent demand for low skilled labour in the EU, at least in the medium term. As this demand cannot be fully met from within the EU, there is and will remain a strong demand for low skilled migrant workers from non-EU countries. This offers immense scope for traditional labour sending countries like India as well as destination countries in the EU to strengthen the migration–development nexus. Unfortunately, on both sides, there seems to be an absence of a coherent and focused policy for governing migration of low skilled workers. Considering that migration of low skilled workers from India is mainly directed to the Persian Gulf, the study also makes a comparison between the existing immigration policies in EU countries and the Persian Gulf in order to draw relevant policy perspectives. Evolving appropriate policy response in relation to low skilled migration to Europe is also necessary given that a significant share of such workers end up as irregular migrants in transit or at the destination.

This project is to explore the inter-continental extension of the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) taking the example of personal mobility between the GDR and Cuba. The focus is on the contract labour programme between these two CMEA countries, in some aspects comparable to the West German Gastarbeiter programme. Contract labour mobility is to be approached as a strand of inter-continental mobilities within the CMEA which linked its European center to its extra-European periphery. In the spirit of the entanglement-line in the field of global history, this project will examine the involvement of the East German and Cuban actors in reciprocal relations and the mutual interests expressed in these relations. This approach embedding the subject in broader perspectives shall make the topic compatible for discussion with migration and development studies. Methods of research are the analysis of archival material, particularly the abundant GDR archives and the archives of the state security both in Berlin, Cuban archival material, and of autobiographical documents, as well as semi-structured narrative interviews with individual actors.

The physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense and particularly so, if these children are associated with the enemy. Overwhelming evidence suggests that children born of war (CBOW), i.e. children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. At a global level, previous UN studies have further emphasized the lack of research on children born out of forced pregnancies in armed conflict. The proposed network addresses the described shortcomings by advancing the knowledge base through systematic analysis of lived experiences of CBOW in a variety of 20th century conflict and post-conflict situations. The main research goal is to further our understanding of how (if at all) CBOW in conflict and post-conflict situations are integrated into society; how (if at all) militaries, governments, and nongovernmental policy makers assist this integration process; and how the children's lived experiences reflect broader societal attitudes to memories of war and vice versa. Our vision is to promote scientific excellence by exploiting the specific research expertise and infrastructure of the co-ordinating partner and all participants in order to advance the research competencies and employability of early career researchers. Their enhanced understanding of the challenges of CBOW in volatile societies will inform the normative debates and, ultimately, policies on the reintegration of CBOW into post-conflict societies. By combining historical, social empirical, psychiatric, political, legal, memory, public health and development studies with the discourse surrounding currently enacted humanitarian intervention, insights gained from this network will surpass existing knowledge and will help improve on current integration efforts.