‘Home-grown’ vs. ‘imported’ regionalism? Overlapping dynamics of regional migration governance in post-Soviet Eurasia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines intra-regional (‘home-grown’) and externally-driven (‘imported’) frameworks of regional migration governance in post-Soviet Eurasia. It argues that whether regional migration governance originates from internal or external sources makes an important difference. It shows that intra-regional migration governance develops around economic rationality, whereas externally-driven regional migration governance tends to prioritise linkages between migration and security and, albeit less systematically, issues of migrants’ rights. The article demonstrates how intra-regional migration governance started to emerge as part of regional integration processes, becoming institutionalised within organisations such as the Eurasian Economic Union. It also shows how alternative versions of regional migration governance have been promoted by international organisations via, in particular, Regional Consultative Processes. It concludes with a reflection on competition and complementarity between these partially overlapping regimes of regional migration governance in Eurasia.