Project description
Studying ideas of migration never achieved
One in two young people in West Africa dream of living in another country, but only a small minority ever actually leave their homeland. This is an interesting finding. In this context, the EU-funded FUMI project will investigate the reason migration never materialises even though it is so desired. Specifically, it will study migration in the present to imagine migration in the future – and how it materialises in thoughts, feelings, communication and behaviour. Combining migration studies with human geography and disciplines such as anthropology, economics and sociology, the project will investigate the theory that young people’s priorities are shaped by the futures they imagine. As such, their lives might be formed by the migration imagined but never achieved.
Objective
The springboard for this project is a striking statistic: half of all young adults in West Africa wish to leave their own country and settle elsewhere. Yet, the vast majority never depart. This discrep-ancy raises a fundamental question: if migration is desired, but never materializes, what are the consequences? The project breaks with traditional approaches by shifting the object of study from observed migration in the present to imagined migration in the future. Although such future migration might never occur, it materializes in thoughts, feelings, communication, and behaviour at present. Young people’s priorities are informed by the futures they imagine, and their lives can thus be formed by migration that is imagined but never achieved. Framing the issue in this way renews research on the precursors of migration and opens up a new chapter about the links be-tween migration and development. The project is guided by a bold central hypothesis: Migration that is imagined, yet never takes place, decisively shapes the lives of individuals and the devel-opment of societies. This hypothesis is addressed through a research design that weaves together three streams: theory development, ethnographic fieldwork, and sample surveys. Drawing upon the PI’s proven qualifications in all three fields, the project aims for deep mixed-methods integra-tion. The project’s empirical focus is West Africa. Migration desires are particularly widespread in this region, and internal socio-economic variation can be exploited for theoretical purposes. By investing in theoretical and methodological development, attuned to a poorly understood aspect of global migration challenges, the project holds the promise of sustained impacts on migration research. The project is set within interdisciplinary migration studies, anchored in human geogra-phy and supported by related disciplines including anthropology, economics, and sociology.
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Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantHost institution
0186 Oslo
Norway