Introduction

Abstract

It has become increasingly mainstream to argue that redressing the Eurocentrism of migration studies requires a commitment to decentering global North knowledge. However, it is less clear whether this necessarily means “recentering the South.” Against this backdrop, this introduction starts by highlighting diverse ways that scholars, including the contributors to this special issue, have sought to redress Eurocentrism in migration studies: (1) examining the applicability of classical concepts and frameworks in the South; (2) filling blind spots by studying migration in the South and South-South migration; and (3) engaging critically with the geopolitics of knowledge production. The remainder of the introduction examines questions on decentering and recentering, different ways of conceptualizing the South, and—as a pressing concern with regard to knowledge production—the politics of citation. In so doing, the introduction critically delineates the contours of these debates, provides a frame for this volume, and sets out a number of key thematic and editorial priorities for Migration and Society moving forward.

Tunisia’s migration politics throughout the 2011 revolution: revisiting the democratisation–migrant rights nexus

“…Indeed, research 'decentring' European perspectives on migration politics and 'recentring' policy processes in the Middle East and North Africa has flourished over the past years, pluralising the view on migration politics and bringing local actors centre stage (Cassarino 2018a;El Qadim 2017;Fiddian-Qasmiyeh 2020;Stock, Üstübici, and Schultz 2019). Such studies have paid particular attention to the role of local civil society actors (Bustos et al Gazzotti 2018;Üstübici 2016) and to the heterogeneity of interests within state bureaucracies (Adam et al 2020;Mouthaan 2019).…”

Border and im/mobility entanglements in the Mediterranean: Introduction to the special issue

“…For instance, the adjectives 'sending', 'transit' or 'receiving' categorize and position states in concentric lines on the world map, with EUrope as the center. Treating EUrope as a primary geography of migrant destination and the 'Rest' as either transit and/or sending countries have been countered by historical and empirical data on South-South mobilities, migrant trajectories and mobility aspirations (de Haas et al, 2020;Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, 2020). Meanwhile, as Luiza Bialasiewicz and Enno Maessen note, border control and migration management are "differentially spatialized inside and outside the EU's boundaries" (2018: 211; see also _ Is¸leyen, 2018a_ Is¸leyen, , 2018b as countries making up the EU external border (Greece, Italy and Spain) take on specific and growing roles and responsibilities.…”

Patterns of inter-state irregular migration in Africa: insights from Ethiopian migrants to the Republic of South Africa

“…These portrayals of an African "exodus" and a constantly mobile continent arise from an imbalance in migration literature, which primarily focuses on the Global North or the political agendas of Europeans seeking to restrict migrant access. This overlooks the fact that the majority of migration actually takes place within the Global South (Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, 2020).…”