Project rationale

The MARS’s research programme is concerned with exploring such pressing questions as

(1) whether empirical evidence and theoretical perspectives obtained from the study of non-Western migration locales actually contribute any generally valid lessons or knowledge that can inform the broader field of migration studies today;

(2) or, whether these perspectives are marginal cases that are far too specialised and therefore should be confined to area studies. The central argument of the MARS is that there is a need to decenter the Western-centric frameworks when studying migratory processes in non-Western migration contexts, an approach which requires the consideration of previously neglected alternatives.

Likewise, instead of the standard, wholesale application of Western-centric theories and frameworks to non-Western migration settings, MARS calls for recognising recurring patterns and tendencies in migration governance in non-Western migration locales that may have global relevance and applicability.

Having said that, both methodologically and conceptually, MARS does not call for a complete dismissal or rejection of Western-centric migration theories and frameworks, but rather for approaching them on non-Western terms, and in parallel bringing forward alternative “epistemic approaches, philosophies and methodologies”.

To undertake this challenging task, it is necessary to identify a rationale or framework capable of explaining non-Western migratory processes and tendencies from

(a) multi-level,

(b) multi-geographic, and

This task, in turn, entails the examination of non-Western migration locales from global, regional, and national level perspectives.

MARS’s overarching theoretical framework is based on the understanding that there is no uncontested universal normative code that guides people’s lives – the very nature of the normative order (i.e., governance) is determined by the outcomes of struggles and interplay between plural and multi-level processes, be they local, national, regional, or global phenomena. Hence, global processes are shaped by the local, micro-level processes that take place at the bottom of society, and local processes are also equally influenced by the global developments. This means the analysis of migratory processes and migration governance should utilise a) multi-level, (b) multi-geographic, and (c) comparative perspectives. Based on these considerations, MARS calls for integrating and combining global, regional, and national contexts into an overarching framework.