Conceptual Complexity About Return Migration of Refugees/Asylum Seekers

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2309503
AutoresZeynep Sahin Mencutek (0000-0002-6676-8579, BICC - Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen59
Número7
Páginas2125-2138
Fecha de publicación2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00219096241283651
OpenAlexW4403568800
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas59

Return migration is one of the complex categories of migration, which becomes even more complicated in the context of refugees' return to their country of origin. A plethora of terms is used to describe the return of refugees/asylum seekers, having strong political and policy relevance. To unpack the features and drivers of conceptual complexity, I propose three interrelated arguments. The first is that labelling - the choice of one concept over another - in return migration often depends on who uses the term (e.g. scholars, policymakers, practitioners, migrants) and in which part of the world. The second argument is that return, similar to binaries in other areas of migration, is often associated with binaries, such as voluntary and forced return. Despite policy categories that reiterate the 'voluntary' character of return, the actual practices rarely confirm that return is voluntary and often remain in grey areas, as the emerging literature on bordering practices shows. The third argument is that there are multiple levels at which labelling and binaries are constructed in relation to each other. The identifiable scales include the academic level, the policy level and the migrants themselves

African studies · Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration