First UN summit on large movements of refugees and migrants: focus on shared challenges

On 19 September 2016 the international community will discuss asylum and migration issues in a single framework for the first time. The success of the high-level plenary session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York will depend on whether it manages to institute a binding principle of shared responsibility in refugee crises, and lay the foundations for rights-based migration governance. Germany, which has lately risen to international prominence in refugee and migration matters, can profit from the summit and supply input for tackling the political challenges. (Autorenreferat

On the way to a Global Compact on Refugees: the "zero draft" - a positive, but not yet sufficient step

In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly is due to adopt a "Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration" and a "Global Compact on Refugees". These initiatives are intended to give new momentum to the international cooperation in refugee and migration policy. The first drafts are promising, but the "Zero Draft" for the Refugee Compact is not yet ambitious enough. With regard to the ongoing negotiations on the Refugee Compact, the German government should, in particular, submit proposals on how to strengthen the implementation of the Compact, how to improve the resettlement of refugees, and how to provide sustainable financial support to host countries. (Autorenreferat

Global migration governance and mixed flows: implications for development-centred policies

Refugee movements, international migration and socio-economic development are intimately bound up together. The impacts of global migratory movements depend on their political management: circumstances conducive to development require close and dependable cooperation between the countries involved. But international cooperation on refugee and migration policy - global migration governance - has to date been weak. Important institutional and policy changes are currently under way, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 including at least some universally binding targets and indicators for migration. And in September 2016 the international community decided to prepare two global compacts - one for migration, one for refugees - within the space of two years. Both will have repercussions for the international institutional setup and the division of responsibilities between UN agencies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Existing supranational consultative forums in the area of migration can also be expected to gain in political significance. What is required from the development perspective is a normative and institutional reordering of global migration policy - a process the German government should promote and contribute to. (author's abstract

MNE’s Regional Location Choice - A Comparative Perspective on East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland

The focus of this article is the empirical identification of factors influencing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in transition economies on a regional level (NUTS 2). The analysis is designed as benchmark between three neighboring post-communist regions, i.e. East Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. Their different transition paths have not only resulted in economic differences. We can also observe today that the importance of pull factors for FDI varies significantly across the regions. This analysis shows that in comparison with Poland and the Czech Republic, East Germany’s major benefit is its purchasing power, its geographical proximity to West European markets, and its modern infrastructure. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that intra-industry linkages such as specialization and agglomeration economies are relevant factors for the location decision of foreign investors. This result can help to explain the regional divergence of FDI streams in transition economies.multinational enterprises, international business, regional economic activity: growth, development, and changes, discrete choice

"Better Migration Management": a good approach to cooperating with countries of origin and transit?

Since the EU and Turkey concluded their refugee agreement, the central Mediterranean is becoming increasingly important again and is currently t he most travelled route for irregular immigration to Europe. A proportion of the refugees and migrants on this route in 2016 came from the Horn of Africa and East Africa. As part of the Khartoum Process, the EU is seeking to cooperate with the countries in this region on migration policy. The Better Migration Management (BMM) programme is one part of these en - deavours. Some civil society actors criticize the programme because they believe it dis- regards human rights and validates despotic regimes. Analysis shows that this claim has, so far, been unjustified. Nevertheless, there is a risk that such cooperation may embolden authoritarian leaders who commit human rights violations. It is, therefore, all the more important to pay attention not only to effectiveness, but also to sustaina- bility and legitimacy when establishing partnerships on migration policy. (author's abstract

How Germany can benefit from the Global Compact for Migration: opportunities for national reforms and international cooperation

In December 2018, 152 United Nations (UN) member states adopted the Global Com­pact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The document sets out 23 objectives that guide countries of origin, transit and destination in how to deal with the chal­lenges arising in the context of international migration and forced displacement. If practical progress is to be made in the management and organisation of global migra­tion flows, this requires a twofold commitment - internal and external - on the part of the states involved. The German government - just like other governments inter­ested in effective, sustainable and coherent migration policies - should use the Com­pact to identify further needs for internal reform and to win international partners for strategically selected key issues. The Compact’s review process, the core of which is the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), provides an opportunity for both. (author's abstract