Research stream 2

RS2: Regional context: Regional migration governance regimes, flows, and processes in non-Western settings focus on (emerging) regional migration patterns, tendencies, and dynamics in the context of non-Western migration locales. The focus on regional migration is driven by the understanding that international migration is regionalized, meaning that migration and mobility take place predominantly within regions between neighbouring or nearby states with geographic or cultural proximity. In this regard, it is possible to find diverse types and forms of regional migration governance across the world. The intention is to understand the dynamics of cooperation between states (defined by their geographic proximity or cultural ties) on aspects of the regulation of migration and mobility. Overall, the goal of RS2 is to investigate the emerging or established regional migration governance practices or legal frameworks that can bind state behaviour, or it can also lead to the development of new ideas and practices that can shape the behaviour of states. The attempt will be made to understand the emerging or recurring legal and political tendencies or approaches to regulating mobility and the rights of (forced) migrants and how these regional patterns differ or operate in parallel with global migratory flows and migration governance practices. Exploring these processes will thus allow us to situate non-Western regional migration processes into broader theoretical and comparative debates within migration studies, as well as inform global policy discussions regarding migration governance.