Regional cooperation on migration and mobility: experiences from two African regions

Dick, Eva / Benjamin Schraven
External Publications (2019)

in: Andrew Geddes / Marcia Vera Espinoza / Leila Hadj Abdou / Leiza Brumat (eds.), The dynamics of regional migration governance, Cheltenham: Elgar, 109-127

ISBN: 978-1-78811-993-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788119948.00012
Information

Based on a framework of analysis for regional migration governance this chapter assesses regional cooperation on migration and mobility in the Economic Community of Western Africa (ECOWAS) and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) at the Horn of Africa. It studies: (1) The relevance of migration and the main drivers for the incorporation of mobility and migration in the regional agendas; (2) The extent to which migration has been included in specific (formal and informal) regional governance systems; (3) Forms and types of migration that have been the focus for cooperation and the effects of this. The results suggest that the policy focus of regional organisations is strongly related to institutional factors (strength of migration policy mandate, degree of legalisation) and the (internal vs. external) nature of agenda setting. However, in the context of multiple and multi-level interactions on migration, comprising inter-regional diffusion, policy formulations are not easily predictable.