Policy-driven migration research?: A systematic literature review of migration in Morocco

Sonneveld, N.; Heddane, N.; Uden, J.J.M. van

In migration studies, the focus usually is on global South- global North movements. As South-South migration constitutes a significant part of global movement, an important part of empirical reality remains understudied. Several scholars have asserted that this negligence in scholarly research is due to a tendency of migration scholars to follow policy developments on migration in global North countries. This paper investigates this assumption by applying a systematic literature review, which focuses on empirical studies dealing with migration in a global South country: Morocco. A hub for multiple migration flows and balancing demands coming from both its African and European neighbours, this North African kingdom forms an interesting case study for investigating whether the perspective of global North policymakers dictates the research agendas of empirical migration scholars. We argue that although the empirical literature on migration to Morocco is rich, the themes and...Show more

In migration studies, the focus usually is on global South- global North movements. As South-South migration constitutes a significant part of global movement, an important part of empirical reality remains understudied. Several scholars have asserted that this negligence in scholarly research is due to a tendency of migration scholars to follow policy developments on migration in global North countries. This paper investigates this assumption by applying a systematic literature review, which focuses on empirical studies dealing with migration in a global South country: Morocco. A hub for multiple migration flows and balancing demands coming from both its African and European neighbours, this North African kingdom forms an interesting case study for investigating whether the perspective of global North policymakers dictates the research agendas of empirical migration scholars. We argue that although the empirical literature on migration to Morocco is rich, the themes and population groups that form the core of empirical scrutiny largely follow questions of political relevance in global North countries.

This working paper is part of the socio-legal research project Living on the Other Side: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Migration and Family Law in Morocco. The project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through an Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (Vidi-grant). The project is carried out at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law & Society, Leiden Law School, Netherlands

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