Call for papers - Governing transit migration: varieties of approaches in international politics

Organised by Dr. Maria Koinova and Dr. Gerasimos Tsourapas

17 September 2018 at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Migration has emerged as one of the major challenges of our time, from the Syrian refugee crisis to the sub-Saharan refugees seeking to reach European shores via the Mediterranean, to the mobilisation of the Turkish diaspora across Europe for the 2017 constitutional referendum, and the debates on immigration reforms in Europe and the United States. While researchers and policy-makers have examined both emigration and immigration, transit migration remains under-explored in migration studies, even more so from the perspectives of International Relations and Political Studies.

This workshop seeks to bring this conversation to the attention of BISA members and other scholars worldwide who would like to join this workshop. We seek to attract a range of researchers working on transit migration and its connection to sending and destination states and international organizations, and would welcome abstracts from doctoral students, early-career scholars and senior academics.

The workshop seeks to structure the discussion along two main axes: firstly, we are interested in institutional politics. What types of institutional responses do sending, transit and receiving states issue to regulate transit migration? How do international organisations, non-governmental organisations and think-tanks respond to the phenomenon of transit? How could we explain such responses, and how could we assess them about their adequateness and shortcomings? Secondly, we are interested in the migrants and refugees and their experiences with transit. How do migrants and refugees engage with existing institutions and societal structures during their migration journeys? How do they respond to various institutional obstacles preventing migration, and what kind of coping strategies do they develop? How do they mobilize during and in the aftermath of their transit migration?

At the workshop we will address these questions, within the broader perspective of migration governance. It will take place on 17 September 2018 at the University of Warwick. We welcome applications from junior and senior scholars in international politics, as well as those with particular regional expertise in the Middle East, Eurasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America.

If you are interested to participate, please send a paper abstract of 300 words maximum to Dr. Gerasimos Tsourapas (g.tsourapas@bham.ac.uk) and Dr. Maria Koinova (m.koinova@warwick.ac.uk) by 10 June 2018.

The organisers will decide on accepted abstracts by 15 June 2018. The organisers may consider the submission of select papers as a special issue in an ISI-ranked journal. Limited financial support will be available for BISA members.