Call for Abstracts - Decision-Making Processes

UN Network on Migration, Workstream “Ensuring migrant protection through strengthened responses to migrant smuggling and increased coordination on its linkages with trafficking in persons” 

The Workstream "Ensuring migrant protection through strengthened responses to migrant smuggling and increased coordination on its linkages with trafficking in persons" was established under the framework of the Global Compact on Migration. It supports the implementation of initiatives against the smuggling of migrants, especially where it intersects with trafficking in persons.

Among its priorities, the Workstream seeks to promote "a rights-based approach to counter-smuggling of migrants initiatives. This includes a specific focus on migrants’ agency, vulnerabilities, and needs, their ties to local contexts of relevance, and the integration of innovative perspectives that consider migrants’ views into counter-smuggling discourses".

The Workstream invites junior and mid-career level scholars, including early-career researchers, researchers from underrepresented low and lower-middle income countries, first-generation college graduates, women researchers, to submit abstracts of ongoing studies related to the theme “Understanding decision-making processes shaping individuals’ choices to embark on smuggling-facilitated journeys”.

Migrant smuggling is defined as financially or materially benefitting from the procurement of the illegal entry of a person into a country where they are neither a national nor a resident.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM)^[1] recently highlighted that the primary and most immediate driver behind the smuggling of migrants is the lack of available or accessible regular pathways. In fact, given the lack and/or inaccessibility of regular and safe alternatives, many prospective migrants perceive the risks associated with irregular, smuggler-facilitated journeys as less severe than the risks of enduring their current conditions - conditions often characterized by dire economic situations, scarce employment opportunities, deteriorating livelihoods, declining rule of law, conflict, violence, persecution, the adverse effects of climate change; ever-more often, individuals are exposed to several of these factors at once, as these increasingly tend to intersect and exacerbate each other.

Ultimately, vis-à-vis their status quo, prospective migrants often come to consider smuggling as a more viable albeit risky option to be able to move away from deteriorating conditions at home.

In depth understanding of the factors and dynamics that shape individuals’ decision-making processes to rely on smugglers is crucial. This knowledge should be a key consideration in designing initiatives to prevent and counter migrant smuggling. In the ever-more complex reality we live in, analysing these decision processes requires innovative perspectives that can capture the interplay between the globalization of migration and localized dynamics, thus also considering the role of community ties, socio-cultural norms, identities (and their intersectionality), as well as historical traditions of mobility patterns.

With this in mind, the Workstream invites submissions for a Special Issue/Edited Collection focusing on Understanding decision-making processes shaping individuals’ choices to embark on smuggling-facilitated journeys. Interested contributors may submit a 300-word abstract that clearly outlines the scope, methodology, and findings of the proposed article. Please include keywords relevant to your submission.

Research questions may include, but are not limited to:

• How do local realities and social dynamics in specific regions influence migrants’ decision-making processes to rely on smugglers?
• What are the primary motivations for migrants to engage with smugglers, considering the inherent risks of such journeys?
• How do migrants' perceptions of risk and safety evolve throughout their journey, particularly in relation to their interactions with smugglers?
• What role do social ties with local communities as well as with communities of nationals abroad play in migrants' decisions to rely on smugglers?
• What is the role of “trust” in dynamics surrounding the smuggling of migrants?
• How are digital technologies influencing the decision-making processes leading individuals to rely on smuggling networks?
• How do intersecting identities (such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status) affect individuals' experiences with migrant smuggling networks?
• How do family dynamics and caregiving responsibilities influence the decision-making processes and experiences of migrants engaging with smugglers? How does gender influence these processes?
• In what ways do inequalities in origin, transit, and destination countries shape smuggling experiences?
• How do masculinities influence the experiences of men and boys within the context of migrant smuggling?
• Authors are encouraged to refer to emerging literature, as mentioned in the background document above, to contextualize their research and provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. This includes recent studies, reports, and findings that shed light on the complexities of law enforcement operations against migrant smuggling and their impact on local development and mobility.

Selected contributions will part of invited to submit a 2000 – 3000 word article to be included in a Special Issue/Edited Collection  by the UN Migration Network, addressing various aspects of counter-smuggling and its impacts. Contributors are encouraged to use gender perspectives and intersectional approaches. Submissions should align with the aims and scope of the Special Issue/Edited Collection and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in this field. Individuals and/or entities currently underrepresented in ongoing debates on smuggling and counter-smuggling are specially encouraged to apply.

Please submit a 200-300 word abstract to unmignet@iom.int, Samantha Munodawafa at samantha.munodawafa@un.org and Rita Deliperi at rdeliperi@iom.int by June 30, 2024. Participants will be notified of their acceptance by July 31, 2024. Selected authors will be invited to join an online workshop taking place in Summer 2024 (date TBD). Final papers are due on October 15, 2024. In the meanwhile, questions can be addressed to the organizers, Samantha Munodawafa of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (samantha.munodawafa@un.org), Rita Deliperi at the International Organization for Migration (rdeliperi@iom.int).

While this topic engages issues relating to the Global Compact on Refugees that are beyond the scope of the GCM, the UN Network on Migration can catalyse efforts to advance the GCM objectives in such mixed flows, with UNHCR coordinating refugee-related engagements.