Call for Special Sessions/Panels/Tracks

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Call for Papers – Special Sessions/Panels/Tracks, Journal Issues, Edited Books

TRACKS at the 9th Migration Conference, 6-10 July 2021, London, United Kingdom:

Migration and History 
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It is a commonly voiced argument that the 21st century, despite major powers’ current protectionist policies concerning international trade and security, will be the century of the migrants. Still, global migrant mobilities and their consequences hark back to the incidents of the previous centuries in several instances. Most examples of today’s forced migration are the outcomes of long-term ethnic and religious conflicts. Imprints of the colonial period are also manifest in the contemporary migration movements to the former colonisers. Besides, today in most of the migration spaces income and wealth disparities between locals and migrants are at a historically breaking point. Especially the phenomenon of inequality alarms the historians drawing on social upheavals and ethnic conflicts of the past that emanated from economic turmoil. These aspects require historical inquiries to draw comparisons between the patterns of the past and current population movements.

With this rationale, this conference track aims at bringing new insights into the history of migration concerning the intersections between Eurasia, Africa and the Americas. It thus critically addresses migration narratives created from the perspectives of nation-states, political camps, migrant communities, as well as individuals. Below are some of the thematic subdivisions for panel and paper proposals:

• Theoretical approaches to the history of migration: How to narrate the past?
• Global and world history perspectives to migration
• Representations of the past between migrant communities and hosting countries
• History of the changing migration regimes
• Histories of diasporas
• Migration and labour: Industrialisation and labour migration to Europe and America
• Migration history that originated in the labour agreements between Southern and Northern European countries
• Internal migration and urbanisation in nation states’ contemporary histories
• Migration and conflict: Displacements caused by civil upheavals, international struggles, and the World Wars
• Historical migration spaces between the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East
• Refugee routes in modern and contemporary history
• Environmental changes, natural or human-caused disasters, and population movements in history

Track Convener: Caner Tekin, Ph.D., M.A. Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Zentrum für Mittelmeerstudien, Germany
E-mail: caner.tekin@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

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 Youth Migration
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We are used to studying international migrants mainly as the male breadwinner and, in general, as labor migrants who typically move from the Global South to the Global North to improve their material conditions. Migrant’s children and youth who crossed borders with or without their parents are often overlooked. Socializing in the North seems to structure a different profile of the traditional migrant population. The young migrants who were taken as children to the Global North, who grew up and socialized in those countries, and who are either stuck in ‘hostile’ host societies or returning to places of origin such as Mexico, Turkey, Maghreb, etc. representing, some sort of migration from the North to the South, from countries where they culturally belong, to countries they have ties through citizenship or networks.

These young people often face the challenge of building (and rebuilding) their lives in social environments that can be alien and hostile to them socially, culturally and economically. It is true that they have an urgency to generate conditions of material reproduction once back in their formal countries of origin, but they also need to rebuild connections with people, families, culture, communities, and governments. These are young people often characterized with multiple belongings and composite identities that have a -not always recognized- very important personal, social, cultural, and human capital.
Therefore, we are inviting researchers to specialized sessions discussing youth migrations with reference to the following topics (the list is not exhaustive but indicative):
• Identities
• National belongings
• Compound identities
• Multiple belongings
• Labor market experiences
• Recovering of Citizenship
• Double Citizenship
• Assimilation
• Transnationalism
• Cosmopolitanism
• Social Cohesion
• Social Movements
• Dreamers
• Young Migrants that have been Deported
• Young Migrants that have Returned voluntarily
• Young Migrants Residents abroad
• Impacts on community development
• Transnational Social Resilience
• Social Networks
• Political Organization
• Diaspora
• Education Policy
• Religion
• Returnees / Deportees reinsertion policies
• Mental Health
• Health Policies
• Social Policies directed to Young Migrants
• Measuring Return Migration in Census and other National Surveys

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

Publication Prospects
The best papers would be invited to be considered for an edited book and special journal issues.

Please, do not hesitate on sending me your comments:
Track Chair: Dr Ana Vila Freyer, Universidad Latina de México, Mexico
Email: ana6509@yahoo.com

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Migration, Law and Policy
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We kindly invite you to take part in the Migration Law and Policy sessions. As Migration Studies are a multidisciplinary field, TMC 2020 is dedicating, this year again, a special session on Migration Law and Policy, expanding the scope of the Conference and providing a broader picture of human mobility around the world. In the TMC 2020 scholars, experts, young researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers can interact and exchange their knowledge.

Human mobility has become one of the most intriguing topics of the globalized world and still has to be legally regulated to ascertain actual protection to people on the move. Due to the migration crisis of the 21st century, human mobility has become one of the most relevant topics of the public, academic and legal debates. Under these circumstances, international and national laws and regulations on migration have been trying to adapt to the new migration tendencies. At the TMC Migration Law and Policy session, it will be possible to bring these laws and regulations into the debate, putting the legal perspective especially in the political and sociological context, so that they can complement one another.

TMC Migration Law and Policy session will include speakers and participants from all over the world, with no regional limitation. We encourage legal academics, policymakers, judges, lawyers, and jurists to submit the abstracts of their research or papers until 5th January 2020.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Migration law and policy
  • Legislative developments on migration
  • Solidarity between states and migration
  • Comparative studies on migration law and policy
  • Regional approaches to the protection of Migrants
  • Visa law and policies
  • Border security
  • Human smuggling and trafficking
  • International governance of migration
  • Legal protection of forced migrants: Refugees, IDPs, Environmentally Displaced Persons, Survival Migrants
  • Protection of Stateless Persons in the context of Migration
  • Complementary protection for Migrants
  • Human rights of migrants
  • Access to asylum – international refugee protection
  • Refugee law and policy
  • The rights of refugees
  • Integration law and policies
  • Irregular migration and interior enforcement

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

Track Chairs: 
Dr Ülkü Sezgi Sözen, Universität Hamburg, Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law, Hamburg, Germany.
Andrea Romano, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.
Chad Heimrich, District Court Kassel, Germany.

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Migration, Religion and Religious Groups
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Migration, Religion and Religious Groups – Dr Eric Trinka and Dr Deniz Cosan Eke

Jewish Migration – Dr Paulette K. Schuster

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

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Jewish Migration – [This call is for papers in English or Spanish]
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The phenomenon of people moving from place to place in search of new opportunities or in flight from violence is not new. Jewish migration is not an exception. In the Jewish case, migration in the modern era has been mainly the result of historical and contingent circumstances that have focused on widespread acts of anti-Jewish violence and persecution, (pogroms), displacement and suffering in the wake of World War II, act of secular self-salvation and the ethnic upheavals that accompanied decolonization. From about 1954 onward, there was a shift in important migrant flows the foundation of the state of Israel. Migrations were closely related to the decline and rise of the centres of the Jewish Diaspora.

The modern narrative of Jewish migration includes political and economic changes that have transformed the traditional and historical paradigms of persecution, flight, and refuge. These key narratives shape the communities, define Jewish memory, society, and culture.

Where does Jewish immigration fit in today’s world? Does Jewish history warp new conceptions of migration? Are the narratives of persecution, flight, and rescue of Jewish migration and history still relevant today? Is Jewish migrations still predominantly the result of persecution and discrimination or are economic motives now the main cause? Does migration still influence fundamental components of contemporary Jewish society, culture, and self?

Therefore, we are inviting scholars to specialized sessions discussing Jewish migrations with reference to the following topics (the list is not exhaustive by any means):

  • Diaspora
  • Identities
  • Compound/hybrid identities
  • National belongings
  • Multiple belongings
  • Double Citizenship
  • Assimilation/Acculturation
  • Transnationalism
  • Cosmopolitanism
  • Social Cohesion
  • Social Movements
  • Return/Circular Migrations
  • Social and Kin Networks

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net [You can submit papers in Spanish or English, there will be separate parallel sessions in both languages]
Track Chair: Dr Paulette K. Schuster, AMILAT, Israel (E-mail: paulette.schuster@gmail.com)

Publication Prospects
The best papers will be invited to be considered for an edited book and special journal issues. Please, do not hesitate to contact Track chair: Dr Paulette K. Schuster, AMILAT, Israel | Email: paulette.schuster@mail.huji.ac.il

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Migration, Religion and Religious Groups
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Migration affects every aspect of the life of those who leave behind their homeland, not excluding religion-related issues. It may transform the religious cultures, rituals, and traditions because of the human mobility and the host country’s reaction. Related to it, new formations of transnational interaction and organization have emerged, and their effects may not be limited with their own group but may extend to uncertain areas. The implications of these are intriguing and controversial issues, since they may pave the way to religious radicalization and even conflicts. It becomes clear that religious issues are interrelated with many social, cultural, and political matters such as integration, identity, diaspora, social and religious movements, and the religious pluralism of the immigrant’s groups.

The relationship between Migration, Religion and Religious Groups is the thematic focus of this panel. The aim of the panel is to explore empirical analysis of the discourses and practices of transnational religious groups and the link between religion and migration with political, historical, cultural, and social transitions. We offer an open call for any other topics dealing with religion and migration, especially proposals that address theoretical and methodical issues in the field of migration in relation to religious studies. At the intersections between religious studies, migration studies and research on religious groups, the topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Migration and Religion in Theoretical Approaches
  • Migration and Religious Ritual Changes
  • Transnational Religious Groups
  • Religious Minorities and Migration
  • New Religious Movements
  • Religious Organizations
  • Religious Conflicts and Religious Radicalization
  • Religious Diversity
  • Religion, Migration and Pluralism

The deadline for submission of abstracts for special sessions is normally extended two more weeks beyond the announced deadline for abstract submissions. The conference language will be English and several tracks will also be available in Spanish, Turkish and French. All papers presented at the conference must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another conference. Structured abstracts (up to 500 words) are invited for submission. Structured long abstracts should clearly state the objectives, referring to relevant literature, methods, results, and conclusions of the work, and should be no more than 500 words in length. For more information on submissions and registration, please visit the conference website at https://www.migrationconference.net/

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact!

Track Conveners:

  • Dr Deniz Coşan Eke, University of Vienna, Austria (E-mail: deniz.cosan.eke@univie.ac.at )
  • Dr Eric Trinka, James Madison University, United States (E-mail: trinkaem@jmu.edu)

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

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 Property Acquisitions by Non-Nationals: Policies, Implications, and Potential Consequences 
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Barriers to capital movements, including real estate acquisitions by non-nationals have been removed progressively in the last decades. A new wave of investments to Western real estate markets by expanding middle classes in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa were expected (Deloitte, 2017; Wong, 2017; Robertson and Ho, 2016; Rogers, 2016). Chinese investors, in particular, have been reported to show interest in British and American real estates, and huge volume of Chinese investment was about to flow into the global market in the next years, the reports said (Guardian, September, 29, 2016).

Not only western but also eastern real estate markets have received increasing number of foreign investors. In 2010, investments from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia to Chinese real estate market accounted for approximately 60% of foreign real estate investments in the country (Kan, 2017). Similarly, reports note an increase in the intra-European capital flows for real estate investment, mainly in the direction of north to south, making Spain and Portugal as prime directions of European real estate buyers (Portugal Resident, January 12, 2018; HTIBS, June 11, 2018). While real estates are reported to be invested, sold, and traded by non-nationals in large numbers, several European countries, such as Ireland, Malta, Portugal, Cyprus, and Spain have introduced visa schemes to attract non-European foreign real persons as investors in their real estate markets (Rogers and Koh, 2017). As news report, in addition to Chinese nationals, citizens of Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, and very recently Turkey have shown increasing interest in investment to real estates in these countries in order to receive golden visas (Investment Migration Insider, September 11, 2018). In others, property acquisition of certain amount made foreigners eligible for citizenship. Therefore, property acquisition by foreigners created implications for citizenship, visa, and immigration policies.

In line with these, real estate acquisitions by non-nationals in major cities such as London, New York, Paris, and Hong Kong have been reported in the media and the issue has become a fascinating topic for academic research. Madden and Marcuse (2016) examine the social and political implications of foreign investments into real estate market in New York. Atkinson, Burrows and Rhodes (2016) examine penetration of ‘super-rich’ into London’s real estate market. While Atkinson (2016) examines the impacts of foreign real estate investment on housing inequality, Kan (2017), Ley (2017), and Rogers (2016) reveal that housing affordability becomes a real concern in Chinese cities, Vancouver, and Sydney, following property acquisitions by foreign real persons. Other studies by Rogers, Lee, and Yan (2015), Rogers (2016), Ley (2017), and Rogers and Dufty-Jones (2015) examine how property acquisitions by foreigners revived cultural and political sensitivities, xenophobic tendencies, protests and contestations in different geographical contexts. Büdenberger and Golubchikov (2017) link penetration of foreign actors into real estate markets with geopolitics and they question the state’s power in exercising sovereignty and territoriality following property acquisitions by foreigners. In another study, the authors examine property acquisitions by Russians in major European cities, and they note that real estate acquisitions abroad have become a ‘soft power tool’ for states to influence each other (Büdenberger and Golubchikov, 2016).

With this burgeoning scholarship, we understand that property acquisitions by foreigners create implications and consequences for visa schemes, immigration, citizenship, inter-community relations, housing, inter-state relations, geopolitics, national interests, foreign policy, sovereignty, and territoriality. The issue also touches on cultural and political sensitivities, and class and identity concerns. This special issue will question these implications and potential consequences of property acquisitions by foreigners around the world. It welcomes papers on property acquisition by foreigners that reflect upon the themes such as but not limited to:
• Immigration and visa policies
• Citizenship
• Inter-community relations
• Housing
• Geopolitics
• Sovereignty
• Foreign Policy

Track Chairs: H. Deniz Genc & Ibrahim Sirkeci
E-mail your queries to hdgenc@medipol.edu.tr

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

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Migraciones, globalizacion y transancionalismo [In Spanish ] – Pascual Garcia
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Migración internacional: desafíos y retos en el siglo XXI [In Spanish] 

Track convener: Pascual Gerardo García Macías, Universidad Tecnica Partocular de Loja, Ecuador
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 Mexico as Destination – Liliana Meza Gonzales
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Development and Remittances
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Social remittances
Non-financial remittances
Worker remittances
Consumption and remittances
Irregular remittances
Informal remittances
Hawala and similar systems
Remittances data and registers
Banks and remittances
Money Transfer Operators
Bitcoin and digital money transfers
Communities and remittances
Conflicts and remittances
Terrorism and remittances
Families and remittances
Remittances in developing countries
Remittances in industrialised world
Remittances theory
Cost of remittances

Track convener: Dr Ruchi Singh, Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research, Bengaluru, India.

Submissions: tmc.migrationconference.net

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