Introduction to the Special Collection: South–South Migrations: What is (Still) on the Research Agenda?

Abstract

In this essay, the authors argue that although "South" and "North" are more and more becoming problematic categories in the social sciences, in general, and in migration studies, in particular, it still makes sense today to focus on South-South migrations. Not only because of its mere quantitative importance, but for a number of reasons. Firstly, new South-South migration patterns are observable and new data are becoming available. Secondly, South-South migrations still have a number of distinct features, including: the role of borders, the composition of migration flows, the migration-conflict nexus, regional migration governance, and the specific relationships with certain migration-related concepts and variables.The goal of this special section in the International Migration Review is to communicate scholarship which addresses the most significant and critical analytical issues pertaining the south-south migrations and mobilities. We proposed a number of broadly defined themes in the call for papers in late 2012: the relevance of current migration theories and social research methods for understanding the nature of transnational processes in south-south migrations and movements; causes and consequences of south-south

Towards an understanding of mobility in social policy research

“…In addition, attention to ‘South–South’ migration in social policy has pointed to the ways in which intra-national and intra-regional mobility is often problematic to distinguish, as regards the historical context of the construction of state borders (De Lombaerde et al, 2014; Hujo and Piper, 2010). Moreover, limited access to formal employment and the absence of a comprehensive welfare state in many countries in the so-called global South means that migrants and citizens share similar experiences of insecurity in this respect (Sharma, 2020).…”

The Impact of Tourist Visas on Intercontinental South-South Migration: Ecuador’s Policy of “Open Doors” as a Quasi-Experiment

“…While the majority of migratory movements in the south take place between neighboring countries and within regions (Dumont, Spielvogel, and Widmaier 2010; UN DESA 2012), south-south movements are extremely dynamic (Campillo-Carrete 2013; De Lombaerde, Guo, and Neto 2014). In particular, the distances in intraregional migration tend to become longer and to increasingly move beyond cross-border migration between neighboring countries (Adepoju 2004).…”

“…More recently, the study of south-south migration and related trends in migration laws and policy in the Global South has picked up momentum (De Lombaerde, Guo, and Neto 2014), covering a range of topics from migration and development (Hujo and Piper 2010; IOM 2013) to public opinion on immigration and xenophobic violence (Facchini, Mayda, and Mendola 2013; Fouratt 2014; Gordon and Maharaj 2015; Meseguer and Kemmerling 2016; Ruedin 2018). Given the growing fecundity of this emerging field, it is beyond the scope of this article to provide a comprehensive review of this literature.…”

“…Other scholars have identified south-south flows as composed of mixed migration in which economic and forced migrants use the same routes, means of transportation, and smuggling networks (Bakewell 2009; Freier 2013; De Lombaerde, Guo, and Neto 2014). Regarding migrant characteristics, it has been observed that south-south migrants differ from their south-north peers in that they are younger; more likely to be men (IDM 2014); and possess relatively lower employment skills, less education, and lower socioeconomic status (Campillo-Carrete 2013; De Lombaerde, Guo, and Neto 2014). It bears mentioning that most studies of south-south migration analyze intra regional flows, often between neighboring countries (ibid.).…”

Using network analysis to study globalization, regionalization, and multi-polarity—Introduction to special section

“…This requires a network analysis of the global matrices. In addition, only global bilateral matrices allow to systematically study regional clustering/density and the effects of regional migration policies (Ceccorulli et al, 2011;Deacon et al, 2011) and the changing patterns in North-South and South-South migration (De Lombaerde et al, 2014). The currently available matrices, based on census or population register data on foreign-born population (in combination with data on nationality and estimation techniques), have been developed by the World Bank (Özden et al, 2011) and UNDESA (2008UNDESA ( , 2013, and have benefited from pioneering work at the University of Sussex (Parsons et al, 2007).…”