Looking Back and Moving Forward: The Research Agenda on the Global Governance of Mixed Migration

There is no international regime to comprehensively govern transnational migration in all of its facets. But scholars and policymakers acknowledge and study the existence of the global governance of migration. Though most have focused on disaggregating the global governance of migration into its separate regimes (refugees, labour, travel, etc.), I argue here that much of this architecture addresses the phenomenon of mixed migration. I define the global governance of mixed migration as involving a range of legal regimes impinging on actors simultaneously; shared understandings about the nature of mixed migration, including motivations and drivers; and the existence of different bilateral, regional and global arrangements for addressing the phenomenon. I critically review the interdisciplinary research agenda on the global governance of mixed migration, covering its emergence over the last twenty years, its broad empirical and conceptual dimensions, the major debates and promising directions for future research.

Automated summary

There is no comprehensive international regime governing transnational migration in all its aspects, but the global governance of mixed migration is increasingly recognized and studied. This involves a range of legal regimes affecting actors simultaneously, shared understandings about mixed migration, and various arrangements at bilateral, regional, and global levels to address the phenomenon. Interdisciplinary research on the global governance of mixed migration has emerged in the past twenty years, covering empirical and conceptual dimensions, major debates, and future research directions.