Millions of internally displaced people are living in their own countries in a temporary status called ‘protracted displacement’, a term not without its debates. We use a social network analysis database to assess how social interactions and demographic characteristics, including the relative location of resettlement, may contribute to IDP integration during the first 2 years of displacement. Our analysis of information from 57 internally displaced individuals in the aftermath of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, finds that networks of persistence, rather than survival or integration, characterize patterns of protracted displacement within 2 years of displacement. This suggests a need for rethinking the mainstream definitions to ensure vital resources are provided to displaced populations to promote timely integration.
This article uses a mixed-methods approach to evaluate how remittances impact household spending behaviour in Kosovo. Based on a nationally representative data set and using matching techniques, it shows that migration does not cause substantive changes in household spending. While remittances cover basic consumption needs, there are no impacts on budgetary allocations for business investments, health and education. Yet, qualitative research conducted in Kosovo's Opoja region, involving the analysis of 28 open-ended interviews, unveils a complex remitting mechanism. While migrants send smaller but regular amounts of money to cover basic needs, earmarked transfers are allocated for housing investments and conspicuous consumption only. These earmarked transfers do not enter Kosovar households' budgets, as migrants exercise decision-making authority over these funds. For policymakers, our findings suggest that standard survey questions fall short of capturing the complexity of the remitting mechanism. When promoting productive investments, it is the migrants who should be targeted as key decision-makers.
The existing migration sociology literature predominantly explains migration decision-making through rational frameworks (socioeconomic factors), often influenced by Western (scientific) bias, neglecting other relevant subjective factors. By relying on data collected through interviews with 60 potential migrants in the Gambia, I go beyond these socioeconomic explanations and identify a key ideational factor – predestination thinking – as an important factor that influences migration decision-making, especially concerning the perception of risk associated with irregular migration among potential migrants. This article demonstrates how predestination thinking influences different aspects of potential migrants' decision-making, including the decision to embark on an irregular migration trajectory, risk assessment, and the nature of family support provided to a potential migrant. I argue that non-conventional, intangible factors such as predestination thinking cannot be neglected when explaining migration decision-making, especially in societies with embedded belief systems. This article contributes to a more nuanced and holistic understanding of migration decision-making beyond Western-centred perspectives.
This article discusses the promotion of policy coherence of migration and development policies that have figured high on the agenda of international organizations and the European Union but have been hardly explored in the context of Central and Eastern Europe. Based on in-depth interviews with 40 Czech experts on migration and development, we identified three key contradictions: (i) The increasing prominence of a security perspective on both migration and development policies and the lack of coherence between these policies in practice; (ii) The tension between the national and transnational perspectives guiding migration policymaking and development policies; and (iii) The lack of reflection on crucial issues, such as remittances and brain drain, in the dominant paradigm of labour migration. We argue that the findings on (in)coherence between Czech migration and development policies help us understand policy responses of Central and Eastern European governments since the 2015 ‘migration crisis’.
Obtaining employment is a high priority for people with refugee backgrounds in countries of resettlement and an important aspect of integration. There are a range of barriers to gaining work for new arrivals; however, much of the existing quantitative evidence on characteristics of employment and facilitators and barriers to work faced by refugees does not consider gender or focuses primarily on men. We used a large, longitudinal survey of over 2000 refugees to Australia to identify characteristics of employment for refugee women and factors associated with the likelihood of employment. Refugee women had lower rates of employment compared with pre-migration and were concentrated in lower-skilled occupations. There were gender differences in predictors of employment outcomes and English language proficiency, living outside major cities and self-assessed health were all significant determinants of employment for refugee women. The findings highlight the need for specifically considering the employment trajectories of refugee women and the importance of a gender-informed employment strategy for new arrivals.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in a massive exodus of Ukrainians to Europe but also the emigration of Russian citizens. While attention has primarily been on the flow of Russian migrants to neighbouring countries, intercontinental migrations to regions like South America have been overlooked. This paper sheds light on the growing trend of Russians settling in Brazil. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of migration statistics and qualitative data from empirical fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2023 in three Brazilian cities, our analysis reveals that new Russian migrants to Brazil are primarily young, highly skilled and resourceful individuals. Unlike in other regions, family migration with young children is common among recent Russian migrants to Brazil. We show that strategic births - using the birth of children to gain residency and citizenship -has become the primary migration channel, forming a new migration system characterised by intensive circulation and turnover between Russia and Brazil. Moreover, while Russian emigration is driven by political reasons, the incorporation of migrants into Brazilian cities is influenced by the relatively privileged economic and legal status of these families. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of complex migration patterns in the “Global South” by illuminating a geographically unconventional flow.
The objective of this paper is to explore the precariousness of immigrant labour through the concept of ‘deviant policies’. These policies are not explicitly intended to regulate the employment of foreigners, but they lead to the creation of uncertain zones of exploitation and vulnerability for immigrants. To achieve this aim, we conducted an ethnographic investigation of Brazilian immigrants with Irish study visas. The findings of our study indicate that the Irish study visa functions as a deviant policy that gives rise to precarious workers and a network of exploitation that encompasses everything from English language schools to unscrupulous employers.