Urgent Invite - Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis (MEDMIG)

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In the first six months of 2015 more than 100,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean, arriving at the shores of southern Europe in search of protection or a better life. In the same period more than 1,800 people lost their lives, drowning as overloaded and often unseaworthy boats sank into the sea. Although the crisis is in many ways nothing new, these scenes have captured the public and media imagination and have challenged the ability of European States to respond appropriately. Recent months have seen increasingly heated discussions at the national and EU level about whether rescues at sea are a vital humanitarian intervention or simply encourage others to attempt the crossing, and whether those who arrive can be dealt with through mandatory or voluntary relocation quotas. Many of these discussions are underpinned by assumptions about why it is that migrants make the journey to Europe in the first place.In this context the research aims to better understand the dynamics of migration in the Mediterranean region by providing the first large-scale, systematic and comparative study of the backgrounds, experiences, aspirations and routes of migrants in four European countries (Italy, Greece, Malta and Turkey) gathered from 550 migrants who have recently arrived and 100 stakeholders. The research pushes the theoretical and conceptual boundaries of migration studies, encouraging critical reflexive dialogue and practice by opening new and inclusive spaces for questioning and challenging established ways of categorising and thinking about with the Mediterranean migration crisis. In so doing it will create opportunities for increased policy dialogue and academic collaboration between the case study countries - and across the EU more generally - around the evidence gathered.The research is underpinned by a number of urgent research questions which inform the collection and analysis of the data:1. What are the underlying factors shaping migration from countries of origin and how do the characteristics and backgrounds of migrants shape the response to structural issues?2. What are the opportunity structures that shape, inform or constrain migrant journeys to Europe? 3. What are the differences between the Central Mediterranean (principally from Libya to Italy and Malta) and Eastern (Turkey to Greece) Mediterranean routes? 4. To what extent are migrant journeys to Europe, or particular countries within Europe, shaped or even determined by non-state actors (agents, facilitators and civil society)? 5. What are the impacts of policies intended to deter or prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean?The research will be delivered by a team of leading UK migration scholars from the Universities of Coventry, Oxford, Birmingham and Sussex working in collaboration with academic partners in the case study countries and supported by experts from international, governmental and non-governmental organisations. The team has established relationships with local civil society organisations that will facilitate access to research participants and provide advice and information on policy or other developments which could impact on the delivery of the project.The research will benefit a wide range of academic, governmental, international and civil society organisations and inform the development of strategic, political and policy responses to the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. This impact will be secured through a three-stage stage process involving: the production of evidence in formats accessible to a range of audiences; a clearly articulated process for securing impact involving dissemination events and outreach activities to connect the evidence with audiences that influence and inform the policy making process and; the development of cross-national networks of researchers, policy makers and practitioners to drive longer term policy change. These will create feedback loops and opportunities for further research.