Project description
A closer look at aspiring (re)migrants
Europe is a magnet for transnational migrants, particularly from Asia and Africa. It is important to conceptualise transnational migration by analysing the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants. With this in mind, the EU-funded AspirE project will explore the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants from Southeast and East Asia (China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) to and within the EU countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Finland). As such, the project will map the extent to which spatial mobility policies at the EU and national levels consider aspiring (re)migrants’ behaviour, identify the micro- and meso-level drivers of (re)migration aspiration and determine the temporality of (re)migrants’ decision-making.
Objective
Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, Europe continues to be a major destination for transnational migrants, notably from Asia and Africa. The way in which this phenomenon has been unfolding underlines the urgent need to further conceptualise transnational migration by analysing the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants. This scholarly enterprise is critically important as mainstream migration theories put more of a focus on broader social processes and dynamics, thereby overlooking the human aspects of migration. Basing itself on several migration theories in various disciplines, this proposal adopts a framework that humanises research on (non-)migration decision-making, i.e. highlighting its human aspects in three ways: engendering, decolonising and situating the analysis in temporal, psychological, relational and social contexts. As a case study, this research project will examine 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). These migrants are oriented towards the EU labour markets where they are concentrated in ethnic niches. Employing qualitative and participatory research methodologies, the study will map the extent to which spatial mobility policies at the EU and national levels take into account aspiring (re)migrants’ behaviour, identify the micro- and meso-level drivers of (re)migration aspiration and/or intention and determine the temporality of aspiring (re)migrants’ decision-making. The results of this project will provide concrete information as to how individuals’ migration decisions change over time and on the specific stage at which mobility policies are more likely to play a role in shaping migration outcomes, which will enhance EU migration policies.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium