Die im Stich gelassene Insel

Der geographische Name der kleinen Mittemeerinsel Lampedusa, welche 205 km von Sizilien und 113 km von der tunesischen Küste entfernt liegt, entwickelte sich in den letzten Jahren immer mehr zu einem Schlagwort innerhalb der europäischen Migrations- und Asylpolitik. Im Jahr 2011, als Folge der Umbrüche während des so genannten „arabischen Frühlings“, wurde sie zum Schauplatz eines von der italienischen Regierung ausgerufenen Flüchtlingsnotstandes. Diese Diplomarbeit versucht die Ereignisse des Jahres 2011 auf Lampedusa nachzuzeichnen und geht der Frage nach, ob der „humanitäre Notstand“ eines politischen Kalküls gefolgt sei. Im Zentrum stehen folgende Fragen: Wer profitiert von einem offiziellen Notstand? Wie haben die BewohnerInnen Lampedusas und die MitarbeiterInnen der humanitären Organisationen den Notstand erlebt? Anhand des Mikrokosmos Lampedusa lässt sich die Bedeutung des Ausnahmezustands auch in einem europäischen Kontext beleuchten. Unter Zuhilfe- nahme eines Gouvernementalitätskonzepts, dem Ban-opticon Dispositiv von Didier Bigo, soll sich dem Mechanismus des Ausnahmezustands als politisches Instrument genähert werden. Der Definiton von MigrantInnen und Flüchtenden ist der Begriff der Mobilität inhärent. MigrantInnen repräsentieren die unterschiedliche Einordnung in juristische Kategorien auf EU-Ebene, in UnionsbürgerInnen und Drittstaatsangehörige. Aufgrund dieser Unterscheidungen wird deren Mobilität eingeschränkt. Sichtbar in der Praxis des Internierens von MigrantInnen und Flüchtende in dafür konzipierte Einrichtungen, wie dies auch auf Lampedusa geschieht. Die Forschungsergebnisse zeigen ein ambivalentes Bild von Lampedusa: Für Personen, die nicht innerhalb des Aufnahmesystems agieren, bleiben die internierten MigrantInnen und Flüchtende „unsichtbar“. Gleichzeitig beeinflusst deren Anwesenheit das Leben auf Lampedusa maßgeblich.The geographical labelling of the small mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which is near to Tunisia at 113 km and Sicily at 205 km, has become a catch phrase in the european discourse about asylum- and migration politics. In 2011 it was the arena of a humanitarian emergency, declared by the italian government, due to the migration flows in course of the ‚Arab Spring’. The present thesis seeks to illustrate the events in 2011 that took place on Lampedusa. It examines the question, wether the humanitarian emergency was determined by political strategy. Who would benefit from such an emergency? How did the Lampedusans and the Humanitarian Aid workers experience this emergency? Based on the microcosm of Lampedusa it is possible to discuss this emergency in the context of european asylum- and migration politics. The emergency as a political strategy will be analyzed with the help of the ban-opticon dispositif, a gouvernementality concept by Didier Bigo. Migrants and refugees are by definition mobile subjects. They represent the distinction of juridical categories imposed to them, by the global order and its conception of nation-states as the source of rights, like citizen and third-country national. Because of these destinctions the mobility of migrants and refugees is frequently restricted by detention in facilities which are specifically designed for this purpose - like the reception centre on Lampedusa. The results of this research give insight to the ambivalence of this island: For those who are not involved in the reception system the migrants detained in the reception centre remain „invisible“. At the same time their presence has a deep impact on the everyday life on Lampedusa

Impeded Migration as Adaptation: COVID-19 and Its Implications for Translocal Strategies of Environmental Risk Management

In the debates over environmental impacts on migration, migration as adaptation has been acknowledged as a potential risk management strategy based on risk spreading and mutual insurance of people living spatially apart: migrants and family members that are left behind stay connected through a combination of financial and social remittances, joint decision-making and mutual commitment. Conceptualizing migration as adaptation through the lens of translocal livelihood systems enables us to identify the differentiated vulnerabilities of households and communities. COVID-19 and the restrictions on public life and mobility imposed by governments worldwide constituted a complex set of challenges for translocal systems and strategies, especially in the Global South. Focusing on examples, we highlight two points: first, the COVID-19 crisis shows the limits of migration and translocal livelihoods for coping with, and adapting to, climate and environmental risks. Second, as these restrictions hit on a systemic level and affect places of destination as well as origin, the crisis reveals specific vulnerabilities of the translocal livelihood systems themselves. Based on the translocal livelihoods approach, we formulate insights and recommendations for policies that move beyond the narrow, short-term focus on the support of migrant populations alone and address the longer-term root causes of the vulnerabilities in translocal livelihoods systems

Migration influenced by environmental change in Africa:A systematic review of empirical evidence

BACKGROUND Despite an increase in scholarly and policy interest regarding the impacts of environmental change on migration, empirical knowledge in the field remains varied, patchy, and limited. Generalised discourse on environmental migration frequently oversimplifies the complex channels through which environmental change influences the migration process. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to systematise the existing empirical evidence on migration influenced by environmental change with a focus on Africa, the continent most vulnerable to climate change. METHODS We select 53 qualitative and quantitative studies on the influence of environmental change on migration from the comprehensive Climig database and systematically analyse the literature considering the multidimensional drivers of migration. RESULTS Environmental change influences migration in Africa in an indirect way by affecting other drivers of migration, including sociodemographic, economic, and political factors. How and in what direction environmental change influences migration depends on socioeconomic and geographical contexts, demographic characteristics, and the type and duration of migration. CONCLUSIONS The contextually contingent nature of migration-environment relationships prevents us from drawing a universal conclusion, whether environmental change will increase or suppress migration in Africa. However, this study unravels the complex interactions between the nature and duration of the environmental pressure, the livelihood of the populations, the role of kinship ties and the role of demographic differentials on migration response. CONTRIBUTION The review provides an initial systematic and comprehensive summary of empirical evidence on the environmental drivers of migration in Africa. It also discusses the implications of the scale, materials, and methods used in the 53 studies

Migration governance and agrarian and rural development: Comparative lessons from China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

The purpose of this policy brief is to draw together key comparative lessons on different types of migration governance interventions in the AGRUMIG project research regions and examine how they support positive feedback loops between migration and agrarian and rural development. This exploration offers stories of success and omission. Moving beyond the elusive triple-win situation on the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries, migrants themselves and the highly politicized domain of the migration-development nexus, our point of departure is that there are vital prospects for augmenting the positive impacts of migration for societies globally. This brief focuses on how migration governance interventions are potentially useful in maximizing the gains between migration and agrarian development in the sending communities in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

Crisis-induced disruptions in place-based social-ecological research ‐ an opportunity for redirection

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape

Crisis-induced disruptions in place-based social-ecological research ‐ an opportunity for redirection

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape

Impeded Migration as Adaptation: COVID-19 and Its Implications for Translocal Strategies of Environmental Risk Management

In the debates over environmental impacts on migration, migration as adaptation has been acknowledged as a potential risk management strategy based on risk spreading and mutual insurance of people living spatially apart: migrants and family members that are left behind stay connected through a combination of financial and social remittances, joint decision-making and mutual commitment. Conceptualizing migration as adaptation through the lens of translocal livelihood systems enables us to identify the differentiated vulnerabilities of households and communities. COVID-19 and the restrictions on public life and mobility imposed by governments worldwide constituted a complex set of challenges for translocal systems and strategies, especially in the Global South. Focusing on examples, we highlight two points: first, the COVID-19 crisis shows the limits of migration and translocal livelihoods for coping with, and adapting to, climate and environmental risks. Second, as these restrictions hit on a systemic level and affect places of destination as well as origin, the crisis reveals specific vulnerabilities of the translocal livelihood systems themselves. Based on the translocal livelihoods approach, we formulate insights and recommendations for policies that move beyond the narrow, short-term focus on the support of migrant populations alone and address the longer-term root causes of the vulnerabilities in translocal livelihoods systems