“Migration is a powerful driver of economic growth, dynamism and understanding. It allows millions of people to seek new opportunities, benefiting communities of origin and destination alike.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Migration shapes our world. According to the World Migration Report 2024, there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, which equates to 3.6 percent of the global population. Migrants are vital contributors to society — driving economies as workers, sparking innovation as entrepreneurs, fuelling growth as investors, and supporting communities as consumers and taxpayers. Yet, the dominant media narrative often overlooks these contributions.
The theme for International Migrants Day (18 December) in 2024 is: Honouring the Contributions of Migrants and Respecting their Rights. The day is also a reminder that human rights are not ‘earned’ by virtue of being a hero or a victim, but are an entitlement of everyone, regardless of origin, age, gender and status.
The team at the Global Souths Hub have curated a list of temporarily free-to-view Third World Quarterly (TWQ) and Central Asian Survey (CAS). These papers showcase diverse perspectives from leading researchers exploring the complexities of migration, as well as the lasting effects of COVID-19 on movement. These articles will be available as free-to-view until the end of January 2025.
1. New actors and contested architectures in global migration governance: continuity and change – Micheline van Riemsdijka, Marianne H. Marchand & Volker M. Heins Third World Quarterly, Volume 42, Issue 1
This article introduces a Special Issue which looks at the new players in global migration governance and how these new actors challenge or change existing systems. The volume also explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these trends. To address the Northern bias in migration studies, the collection of articles includes voices from the Global South and several articles on mobilities within the Global South.
2. Feminization of labour migration from Uzbekistan to Turkey: the role of neoliberal policies, patriarchy and social networks – Sebnem Koser Akcapar & Dilek Çakır Central Asian Survey, Volume 43, 2024 – Issue 1
This paper looks at the growing trend of women migrating – the feminisation of labour migration – from Uzbekistan to Turkey, driven by economic changes since the 2000s. As more Uzbek migrant women have joined the workforce in Turkey, they have gained independence but often face traditional gender roles again in their new environment. The study, based on interviews with migrants and policymakers, highlights how these women’s experiences reflect a cycle of breaking free from patriarchy (economic independence and emancipation) only to encounter it in a different form in the new country (known as ‘patriarchal reaffirmation’).
3. New architectures for migration governance: NAFTA and transnational activism around migrants’ rights, Christina Gabriel & Laura Macdonald, Third World Quarterly, Volume 42, 2021 – Issue 1
This article explores how free trade agreements, particularly North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have influenced migration governance and migrant rights advocacy. The authors found that while having a limited impact on improving migrant workers’ conditions, these agreements have led to transnational cooperation and new alliances between trade unions and migrants’ rights activists.
4. Floating people, changing climate: a migrant-sensitive approach to climate adaptation and mobilities in the Bengal Delta, Tanaya Dutta Gupta & Danielle Falzon, Third World Quarterly, Volume 45, 2024 – Issue 9
Climate adaptation projects in the Bengal Delta often ignore circular migration, focusing instead on keeping people in fixed locations in cities or towns. This particular approach fails to address the realities of mobility and the unique challenges migrants face, such as climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on 16 months of research, the authors call for a migrant-sensitive approach that embraces local mobility and development needs.
5. Migrants’ entangled socio-political and biological lives during the COVID-19 emergency in Brazil, Flávia Rodrigues de Castro, Gisela P. Zapata & Marcia Vera Espinoza, Third World Quarterly, Volume 45, 2024 – Issue 12
During the COVID-19 crisis, migrants in Brazil faced worsened living conditions due to civil society organisations (CSOs) shifting their focus to providing emergency aid. Based on 25 interviews with CSO members, this paper explores how the pandemic emphasised biological survival over migrants’ political and social lives. It argues that while the organisations prioritised survival, they also highlighted the risks of neglecting migrants’ broader well-being, as it ultimately affects their ability to thrive. The paper is part of a broader study,‘Migration, Pandemic and Responses from the Third Sector: Lessons from Brazil and India’.
6. The grass is always greener? Unpacking Uzbek migration to Japan: edited by Timur Dadabaev, Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, 209 pp., £109.99, ISBN 9789811625695, Yang Zhao, Central Asian Survey, Volume 43, 2024 – Issue 2
This is a recent book review of Timur Dadabaev’s work by Yang Zhao, a Global Health and Development specialist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Zhao, having spent time doing ethnographic research in Central Asia, wanted to explore the motivations behind migration from Uzbekistan to Japan. He describes Timur’s work as an invaluable contribution unpacking the emerging trend of educational migration from Central Asia which has had less attention than labour migration.
These five articles will be free-to-view until the end of January.
