Dr. Anna Triandafyllidou: The Global Governance of Migration: Towards a ‘Messy’ Approach

This presentation discusses how global migration is changing in the 21^st century and looks critically at the emerging global governance regime today, particularly in relation to the Global Compacts. The presentation questions why and how the global governance of migration is emerging today under a blueprint that emphasizes orderly, safe, regular flows when the reality is that most flows are disorderly, unsafe, and partly regular or indeed largely unauthorized. The global governance of migration remains inscribed in the paradigm of risk society which fails to acknowledge complexity and uncertainty. The pandemic emergency invites us also to rethink systemic resilience in migration governance and to decentre our perspectives engaging with different levels of governance, different countries as well as a variety of actors at national and regional or transnational levels. The presentation concludes by arguing in favour of a ‘messy’ approach to the global governance of migration.

Professor Anna Triandafyllidou holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University, Toronto since 2019. She was previously based at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, where she held a Robert Schuman Chair on Cultural Pluralism in the EUI’s Global Governance Programme. She is Editor of the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies. Her recent publications include Rethinking Migration and Return in Southeastern Europe (with E. Gemi, Routledge, 2021) and two edited volumes: the Routledge Handbook on the Governance of Religious Diversity (2020, co-ed. with T. Magazzini) and Migrants with Irregular Status in Europe (2020, with S. Spencer, Springer Open). For more information on her work, please visit: www.ryerson.ca/cerc-migration and www.annatriandafyllidou.com.