Spotlight: Getting to the heart of the migration crisis

A new project will identify the drivers of the current migration crisis to inform African and European policy.

Published on 31 March 2016 in Impact

How can countries deal with the challenge of mass migration if they do not know why people move?

A new project by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in partnership with the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime and funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation aims to ask and answer the difficult questions that will underpin solutions to the current migrant crisis. The multi-year project expands on groundbreaking research published in 2015 by the ISS and the Global Initiative, which received critical acclaim in Germany and at the European Union due to its sound original information on the nature of the recent surge in migration. 

That study found that violent conflicts, terrorism, long-standing repressive regimes, chronic poverty and inequality are driving the unprecedented number of refugees and migrants to Europe. Coupled with this is the emergence of an increasingly violent and opportunistic smuggling industry, driven by sustainable profits that allow transnational networks to develop where they previously did not exist.

The ISS is well placed to ensure the research results reach the right people

‘We want to build on our previous research to better understand the causes and catalysts of mass migration including some of the illicit dimensions, like smuggling and threat financing, to help African and European policymakers shape their approach to addressing challenges’, says Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Senior Researcher at the ISS. 

Dr Wolf Krug, Resident Representative at the Hanns Seidel Foundation agrees. ‘So little is really known about illegal migration and human trafficking within Africa and from Africa to Europe. Sound research and analysis is crucial for developing national and Pan-African policy responses that work’.

The research will include interviews with migrants, smugglers and policymakers. During the first phase of the project, surveys with smugglers will be conducted in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Turkey along with research on migration from North Africa. The project will investigate not only the drivers and dynamics of illegal migration ­­– including links to organised crime – but also the socio-economic impact.

With its established networks and access to decision makers, the ISS is well placed to ensure the research results reach the right people. Through its training and technical assistance support, the ISS can assist policy makers to develop and implement policies that will address the migration crisis.

For more information contact: 

Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, ISS: +27 12 346 9500, [email protected]

Picture: ©Mstyslav Chernov