Timeline
Deadline for paper proposals: 17.00 CET February 11 2022. The conference will be organised around five themes (see below). For paper proposals, include title of paper, name(s) of author(s), affiliation(s), an abstract of 300 words max and please indicate on the paper proposal the theme or themes (listed below) that the paper will address.
Communication of accepted papers: week beginning March 14 2022.
Deadline for submission of selected papers: Friday 13 May 2022.
Conference Scope
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly dominated public debate for 2 years, but it is now timely and important to think about continuities and change in a migration world. This means a world that has been, is and will continue to be powerfully shaped by international migration in its various forms and by responses to that migration. The pandemic has had massive effects, but we do not privilege it as the sole cause or driver of the dynamics of contemporary international migration. The aims of the conference are to understand more about: (1) new patterns and trends in migration and mobility and to examine the factors that shape them, including, but not confined to the pandemic; and (2), understanding more about the factors that shape social, legal, political and economic responses to international migration in its various forms. The conference will be multidisciplinary and global in scope with the intention of ensuring that the conference learns from perspectives from across the world. We welcome papers that offer innovation in theory, methods or data analysis.
Themes
Border controls, security and mobility practices: What are the key dynamics and factors shaping migration and mobility as well as migration/border enforcement practices? What strategies have emerged to offer legal challenges and responses to migration controls and their impacts on human and civil rights? We welcome perspectives that incorporate the perspectives and challenges faced by those directly involved and/or impacted by these practices and their effects.
Themes, patterns and trends in migration governance: What factors influence the meanings, purposes, scope, operation and effects of migration governance and to what extent have these changed? To what extent and to what effects have ‘crises’ been used or abused to introduce laws, policies, practices and approaches as well as new forms of action and interaction between states and other relevant actors, such as international organisations? How can the effects of these governance measures be assessed, to what extent do patterns vary across countries and regions and to what extent do they interact with inequalities of various types, include gender-based inequalities and patterns of racialisation?
Labour markets, welfare states and migration policies: What elements of continuity and change are evident in the interactions between various forms of international migration across countries with different socio-economic institutions such as different configurations of social, rights, welfare provision and labour market regulations? How have national labour markets, social rights and welfare institutions shaped the characteristics, effects, and politics of migration and mobility? How do variations in national level institutions affect the prospects for stronger transnational governance of migration at regional and global level?
Migration, aid and development: What factors shape the relationships between aid and development and migration flows? We encourage papers that explore macro patterns and trends in aid and development, including remittance flows as well as assessments of both relations between different types of aid and migration flows and of how aid can affect the out-migration of different groups of migrants.
Public attitudes to migration and migration policies: To what extent have the characteristics, determinants, and effects of public attitudes to migration and migration policies been shaped or affected by crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the key elements of variation across countries and over time and how can these be accounted for? What are the implications for the politics and governance of migration and asylum?
Key Information
Date and place of MPC conference: Monday 23 May – Wednesday 25 May, European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
Format: the intention is to hold the conference in person with attendees at EUI in Florence, although provisions for online participation can be made in particular, individual circumstances. We reserve the right to change the conference format if pandemic restrictions are applied.
Fees and funding: There is no conference registration fee. Participants will be expected to fund their own travel and stay in Florence. A small number of bursaries are available to support attendance, with preference for early career scholars from low-income countries. Please indicate on your paper proposal if you would require support to attend the conference and provide a short justification.
Registration: Registration for the Conference 2022 will open shortly, we are currently accepting only the papers.
