Conference Call for Papers: Rethinking Complex Migration: Flows, Frames, and Futures

International migration is increasingly diverging from the neat categories that policy and scholarship use to describe it. Unlike the past, when migration was thought to be a linear trajectory from a country of origin to a country of destination, with the intention of settlement, migration today is becoming more complex, involving multiple journeys, and under different policy categories. Migrants today do not easily fit the policy categories of labour migrant, refugee, or international student – they tend to have mixed motivations; economic, political, and family-related. Digital mobility also further complexifies migration: digital nomads emerge as a new type of lifestyle migration while many migrant workers are engaged in digital platforms providing their services to overseas employers. Further, international migration is often intertwined with internal migration or forced displacement making it even more difficult to fit human mobility into legal structures of ‘safe, orderly and regular’ migration.

This conference offers a reflection on what is considered ‘regular’ or ‘normal’ migration, and what is now viewed as ‘complex’ migration, through a series of dedicated plenary panels. We will examine the weaponization of migration and the emergence of migration diplomacy in an increasingly unstable world. We will also offer some analytical reflections on the dimensions of complexity that characterize migration and its governance today. The conference also presents two sets of panels discussing different methodologies in studying complex migration – big data and AI on one hand, and participatory creative methods on the other. 

Against this backdrop, we invite individual paper and panel submissions addressing the topic of Complex Migration as described above. We encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines, career stages, methodological approaches, and geographical focus. There are a maximum of 24 panel slots available. Travel support will be available for selected presenters from non-OECD countries.

Deadline for paper submissions: 11:59 PM Sunday, November 2, 2025