Research

The TRANSMIC research training programme (Transnational Migration, Citizenship and the Circulation of Rights and Responsibilities) seeks to contribute to the understanding of the concept of transnational migration by examining how it has emerged and developed in policy and scholarly debates, and the ways in which transnational migration can best be put into practice promoting a ‘rights-based mobility’ without taking the shape of the former (failed) guest-worker programmes. The research aims to explore from theoretical and empirical multidisciplinary perspectives how the mobility of people meshes with the (im)mobility of rights and obligations, and how the mobility of such rights and obligations can be enhanced. It will more generally examine the links between migration, citizenship, and migration and development from European and international perspectives.

The main scientific objectives of the project are the following:

•   To contribute to the clarification of the concept of transnational migration by carrying out theory-based analyses as well as empirical research;

•   To critically analyse how the mobility of people meshes with the (im)mobility of rights and responsibilities;

•   To collect a rich pool of empirical data and produce comparative evidence on the conditions for and effects of transnational migration patterns;

•   To develop and arrive at explanations of transnational migration patterns that are beneficial for the countries of origin and destination, as well as for the individual migrant, with a specific geographic coverage of China, Africa, India, and Latin America where one or more partners have established contacts for a sound research collaboration;

•   To explore solutions that promote transnational migration in form of a rights-based mobility by adopting an interdisciplinary approach, including political science, sociology, international relations, history, law, economics and public administration and by pooling expertise beyond the national and European level.

Next to the scientific objectives, the main training objectives of the project are: 

•   To instil researchers with a sound knowledge of quantitative and qualitative, as well as legal research methods in the field of migration and to acquaint them with interdisciplinary research;

•   To provide researchers with insights into theories and concepts of migration research;

•   To equip young researchers with practical skills that prepare them for the job market within the European multi-level system and/or academia.

10 Ph.D. and 3 post-doctoral researchers are carrying out research projects within the framework of the TRANSMIC project.