International Migration: Policies and Practices

In a context of growing international mobility, migration governance and migrants’ inclusion have become key topics across origin, transit and new residence countries. The outbreak of conflicts and humanitarian crises in different world regions has further increased the salience of migration in political and societal debates, as well as the polarisation around the issue worldwide.
In this context, a large variety of political and social actors operating at different territorial levels (national, sub-national, international) play a significant role in shaping migration policy-making and governance within and across countries. Simultaneously, an increasingly vast stream of academic debate has emerged around the formulation, implementation and evaluation of immigration and migrant inclusion policies, also raising concerns about the effect of such policies on migrants’ lives and decisions of settlement and/or return.
This Section seeks to critically examine shifting dynamics of international migration policies and practices from a comparative perspective, while also addressing the role of political and social actors in shaping migration governance from a multilevel perspective. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach and diverse methodological viewpoints, the Section welcomes panels and papers that focus on the different social, economic and/or political facets of international mobility. We are particularly interested in proposals addressing:
- Recent changes in immigration policies and migration governance from a multilevel perspective;
- Current transformations of diaspora policies and the governance of emigration from a comparative perspective;
- The policies, politics and dilemmas around forced displacement, asylum and refugee protection;
- New policies and practices of border control and international management of migration flows;
- Changing dynamics of labour market incorporation of immigrant populations and returnees;
- New perspectives on migrants’ social rights and access to social protection;
- Migrants’ political engagement in home/new residence countries and patterns of transnational political mobilisation and claims-making;
- Recent trends in public opinion towards migration and diversity;
- The salience and politicization of immigration and emigration in political debates;
- Citizenship regimes, the design and effects of naturalization policies.