Migration Studies and the Decolonial Challenge

How can migration studies respond to the decolonial challenge? International and interdisciplinary, this timely book directly confronts issues of ongoing colonialism and a re-evaluation of migration studies’ epistemic, institutional and intellectual foundations. The book proposes postcolonial frameworks for conceptualising and researching migration while considering the scope and potential for decolonisation of the field.

Contributors highlight the deep and enduring links between migration studies and colonialism, confronting the spectres of enslavement, Indigenous dispossession and worldwide indenture. They address the field’s relationship with borders and governance, outlining critical issues such as power dynamics, the concept of othering and territoriality, alongside a nuanced examination of the notions of the migrant and the refugee. The book ultimately emphasises the transformative influence of emerging critical and radical traditions within contemporary migration studies.

This is a valuable resource for scholars and students of migration studies across the social sciences and addresses the state of the field in a time of intellectual decolonisation.

Edited by Francis L. Collins, Professor, School of Social Sciences, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, Sin Yee Koh, Senior Assistant Professor of Asian Migration, Mobility and Diaspora, Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam and Brenda S.A. Yeoh, Raffles Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore