Basing itself on several migration theories in various disciplines, the project AspirE adopts a framework that humanises research on (non-)migration decision-making by highlighting its human aspects in three ways: engendering, decolonising, and situating the analysis in temporal, psychological, relational, and social contexts. This project poses the following research questions: (1) how do migration regimes in the countries of origin and destination consider (aspiring) (re)migrants’ behaviour in their policies? (2) Why do people decide to (re)migrate or to stay? (3) When do individuals’ migration decisions evolve? AspirE's objectives are: to map to what extent spatial mobility policies consider aspiring (re)migrants’ behaviour; to identify the micro- and meso-level drivers of mobility aspiration and/or intention; and to determine the temporality of (non-)mobility decision-making. To attain its first objective, AspirE examines the extent to which specific State policies consider individuals’ behaviour with regard to spatial mobility and immobility. For its second objective, the focus is put on drivers of and aspirations as well as intention to (re)migrate. To achieve its third objective, AspirE focuses on the “stages of decision making”, i.e. the evolution over time of an individual’s aspiration and/or intention to (re)migrate or not. The gender dimension of (re)migration decision making is taken into account to obtain a well nuanced picture of such a process. As a case study, this project analyses the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants from selected Southeast and East Asian countries (China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) to and within selected EU member countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Finland). Regardless of the mobility channels taken to reach Europe, most of these migrants become incorporated, at one point in their migration trajectories, on a full- or part-time basis into the labour market of their receiving countries and/or immerse themselves in the ethnic (in)formal economy of their co-nationals. AspirE investigates how such migratory movements occur, specifically how the decision to migrate to or within Europe takes place among aspiring Asian (re)migrants. In terms of data-gathering techniques, AspirE adopts “decolonising” methodologies that highlights diverse emic perspectives through the use of qualitative and participatory methods (e.g. policy content analysis, expert interviews, semi-structured interviews, social network mapping, video diaries, and focus group discussion). The results of AspirE’s data analysis will contribute to enhance EU migration policies, which will avoid (prospective) re/migrants falling into a difficult situation of irregularity and precarity.
