Conference Overview
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, in collaboration with the Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute, we invite contributions from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to an international conference that will explore questions at the interface between migration research, policies, practices, mobilizations and engagement.
The conference seeks to examine the contested and contentious links between knowledge, evidence, engagement, mobilization and decision-making, the meanings of these terms as well as the broader power relations within which they are embedded. The conference aims to challenge tendencies towards evidence-free, but deeply entrenched narratives about African migration. To do so requires, among other things, a deep and sustained engagement with prevalent concepts of “othering”, a more representative choice of research settings, and methodologies as part of a serious attempt to “decentre” the research process, and the power relations that structure research, policy, practice and engagement.
Background and Rationale
The dominant literature is characterized by the relative absence of African perspectives in the framing of migration research, leading to a misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the realities of African migration. African migrants are assumed to be an economic burden on host societies, and migration is too often depicted as an anomaly, an exception, and a desperate decision borne out of so-called “push” factors. In particular, the role of power across multiple scales, subnational, national and transnational, is rarely foregrounded in studies of African migration. This is an important oversight, because international migration in its various forms is constituted by power relations that shape the variables that enable or constrain human mobility. The ways in which international migration is understood as a field of study and research is critical for policymakers as it serves as a driver of social and political mobilizations'. Past and current debates, as well as visions of future developments, are central to any discussion of links between research, policies, practices, mobilizations and engagement.
Themes and Areas of Interest
We invite papers that provide critical empirical, conceptual, theoretical and/or methodological engagements with various forms of gaps or omissions in discourses on migration research, policies, practices and engagement on Africa, including but not limited to:
The forms of knowledge that are included or excluded within African migration governance research geared towards a deeper understanding of the terms of engagement between migration research and policy and, more widely, about the scope for and implications of knowledge that can potentially redefine the terms of engagement between migration research, policies and practices and challenge existing paradigms.
Gaps between knowledge produced in higher-income destination countries and decentred knowledge produced by researchers in African countries that can potentially challenge Eurocentric knowledge production and the research/policy paradigms that are enabled by it. This could include practical examples of the challenges and opportunities for decentred knowledge production.
Gaps between research evidence and practice that may arise because of a lack of awareness of relevant evidence or the complexity of evidence and because, at times, evidence is ambiguous or even contradictory. This could include, for example, papers that probe the ways in which various forms of knowledge can co-exist within social and political systems, but some forms, such as those embedded within community, local, or youth experiences, may find it more difficult to challenge prevailing narratives.
Gaps between policymakers and the public/citizens and scope for neglect of the interests of local communities and people on the move. Migration can simultaneously be a source of social and political contention while also being a vital route to sustain the livelihoods of families and communities. Contributions could examine links between knowledge, evidence and the mobilizations that are associated with these, including those who are included or excluded.
Gaps between and within levels of decision-making, such as the local, national, regional, and international levels, that can, for example, hinder the transmission of locally based knowledge grounded in the lived experiences of migrants and their communities.
Gaps between apparent areas of policy consensus and the situation on-the-ground. This could include the continued power and resonance of narratives that are, at best, only partly based on sound evidence. This could, for example, include contemporary challenges such as the production of irregularity/illegality and future challenges such as ‘climate migration’.
Submission Guidelines
Paper proposals are expected to demonstrate clearly how they will deal with the theme of engagement between research, policies, practices and mobilizations. Contributions that provide new empirical, methodological or conceptual insights into the potential for and limitations of decentred knowledge production about African migration and, more broadly, migration research are particularly welcomed.
Important Dates
Deadline for paper proposals: Friday, 27 November 2025
Notification of acceptance: December 2025
Deadline for draft full papers: 31 March 2026
Submission Link
👉 Submit your paper proposal here:
https://www.eui.eu/events?id=582674
Fees and Funding
There is no conference registration fee. Participants will be expected to fund their own travel and stay in Accra. A small number of bursaries may be available to support attendance for early career scholars from low-income countries. Please indicate in your registration form if you would require support to attend the conference and provide a statement of justification.
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