Recent theoretical developments on migration decision-making
This paper presents recent theoretical and methodological developments relating to the trajectories, temporalities and dynamics of decision-making in migration, especially in the context of migration processes within and beyond the Global South. The conceptual framework lays the basis of empirical research on diverse migrations in selected African countries and their European diasporas.
Summary
Attention has increasingly shifted from South–North to South–South migration, reflecting both its growing scale and calls to decentre knowledge production. Improved data over the past two decades show that South–South migration now exceeds South–North flows. In 2017, 38% of international migrants moved within the Global South, compared to 35% moving to the North, with most migration in Africa and Asia occurring within these regions. At the same time, upper-middle-income countries in the South have become more prominent destinations, with rising shares of migrant workers.
Countries such as Morocco illustrate these dynamics, hosting migrants, students, and refugees from across Africa, alongside European residents. Yet persistent assumptions frame the Global South as offering limited opportunities, often contrasting “expatriates” from the West with other migrants.
Scholars and practitioners increasingly call for a shift in how migration is understood, emphasising the need to decentre dominant narratives and better reflect realities in the Global South. This is especially important for African migration, which is often misrepresented as primarily directed toward Europe and driven by crisis, despite most movement occurring within the continent. Greater attention to these patterns helps reveal the diversity and complexity of African migration and challenges the idea of Africa as merely a passive recipient of external forces.
