The research project »Forced Displacement, Migration and Development – Challenges and opportunities for German and European politics« is a follow-up project to the previous research project »Forced displacement and development cooperation« that was carried out from 2015 to 2018. The new project changes perspectives: besides its focus on forced displacement it also includes aspects related to migration and pays particular attention to the interfaces between the two issues, and especially to mixed flows. The project analyses development and foreign policy aspects of asylum and migration cooperation, in particular the interests of partner countries, the important role of regional integration activities and what international, European and German opportunities for action result from this.
The project focuses on four issues:
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Conceptual and institutional development of international asylum and migration cooperation, especially the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Migration, as well as the evolution of international government and non-government fora, like the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD),
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EU asylum and migration policy, in particular with regard to African partner countries and their respective policy interests,
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Development policy aspects of German asylum and migration policy, in particular with the new immigration law, transnational partnerships for technical and vocational training, and an effective, sustainable and human rights based return and reintegration policy,
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Root causes of migration and displacement, in particular motives for and against migration decisions and their linkages with economic, social and political framework conditions.
Apart from its conceptual work, the project plays a coordinating role in promoting thematic exchange and cooperation between BMZ-financed research projects on forced displacement and development. Within this framework, thematic networking workshops are organized. Participants include i.a. representatives from the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), the German Development Institute (DIE), Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and German political foundations.
These networking workshops are complemented by regular exchanges with European research and evaluation institutions as well as international workshops and conferences.
Project duration: January 2019–December 2022
Project funding: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
