Urgent Invite - Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis (MEDMIG)

2015年前六个月，超过10万名移民穿越地中海，抵达南欧海岸，寻求保护或更好的生活。在同一时期，超过1800人失去了生命，溺水身亡，原因是超载且往往不适合出海的船只沉入大海。尽管这场危机在许多方面都不是什么新鲜事，但这些场景激发了公众和媒体的想象力，并挑战了欧洲国家作出适当反应的能力。近几个月来，各国和欧盟层面的讨论越来越激烈，讨论的焦点是海上救援是一种重要的人道主义干预，还是只是鼓励其他人尝试越境，以及是否可以通过强制性或自愿搬迁配额来处理那些抵达的人。在这方面，这项研究旨在通过对四个欧洲国家(意大利、希腊、马耳他和土耳其)的移民的背景、经历、愿望和路线的首次大规模、系统和比较研究，更好地了解地中海区域的移民动态，收集了550名新近抵达的移民和100个利益攸关方的资料。这项研究推动了移民研究的理论和概念界限，鼓励批判性的反身性对话和实践，为提问开辟了新的包容性空间，并挑战了对地中海移民危机进行分类和思考的既定方式。这样做将为案例研究国家之间--以及整个欧盟--围绕收集的证据加强政策对话和学术合作创造机会。这项研究的基础是一些紧迫的研究问题，这些问题为数据的收集和分析提供了信息：1.影响原籍国移民的潜在因素是什么，移民的特征和背景如何影响对结构性问题的反应？2.形成这些问题的机会结构是什么，告知或限制移民前往欧洲？3.地中海中部(主要是从利比亚到意大利和马耳他)和东部(土耳其到希腊)地中海路线有什么不同？4.前往欧洲或欧洲内特定国家的移民之旅在多大程度上是由非国家行为者(代理人、促进者和公民社会)决定的？5.旨在阻止或阻止移民穿越地中海的政策有何影响？这项研究将由来自考文垂大学、牛津大学、伯明翰和苏塞克斯与案例研究国家的学术伙伴合作，并得到国际、政府和非政府组织专家的支持。该小组与当地民间社会组织建立了关系，以便利接触研究参与者，并就可能影响项目执行的政策或其他事态发展提供咨询和信息。研究将使广泛的学术、政府、国际和民间社会组织受益，并为地中海移民危机的战略、政治和政策对策的制定提供信息。将通过三个阶段的进程确保产生影响，其中包括：以各种受众可以获得的形式制作证据；一个明确阐述的进程，以确保产生影响，包括传播活动和外联活动，以将证据与影响决策进程并为其提供信息的受众联系起来；发展研究人员、政策制定者和从业人员的跨国网络，以推动长期的政策变化。这些将为进一步的研究创造反馈循环和机会。

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.