International Organization For Migration Research Articles

MIGRATION AND SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF INTERNAL MIGRANTS AND STUDENTS IN KAZAKHSTAN

This article discusses the issues of internal migration in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The researchers based on a secondary analysis of data obtained by as part of an assessment of the resettlement program initiated and supported by the International Organization for Migration in 2021. The social adaptation of internally displaced persons and students, their integration into the host society, as well as public policy was studied in the field of migration and management of migration processes in the country. The methodological basis of the study was the results of a sociological survey of migrants (N=354), in-depth interviews with specialists from employment centers, civil servants working in the regions of arrival and departure and in central ministries, a survey of students (N=150) of the “Serpin” program.

Effectiveness of Foreign Refugee Handling Services by Kupang Regional Government with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the service for handling the refugee from abroad in Kupang by the Regional Government of Kupang in collaboration with IOM after the delivery from the Kupang Immigration Detention Center and to examine the factors that cause the ineffectiveness of the foreign refugee handling services. This study uses qualitative research approach that focuses on analyzing the services for handling refugees from abroad in Kupang based on the concept of good service characteristics. The study found that the implementation of services for handling refugees from abroad in Kupang has not been effective due to: lack of participation by the Kupang Regional Government, lack of maintenance in the facilities and infrastructure in the shelter, lack of human resources officers at the shelter, local government feels not responsible for handling refugees, health services are less responsive, language barriers, Kupang local government does not have a database of refugees from abroad, lack of knowledge on refugee status and human rights enforcement by immigration officers, the reactive attitude of the refugees that reduce the trust of the Kupang Rudenim. In conclusion, the effectiveness of refugees from abroad handling services in Kupang which is managed by the Kupang Regional Government in collaboration with International Organization for Migration (IOM) is still not optimal if judged based on good service indicators.

On Global Immigration Policy: Present and Future

In more ways than one, immigration has proven central to both developed and underdeveloped countries of the world in terms of globalization. According to the World Migration Report, 280 million people around the world are migrants, equaling 3.6% of the world population in 2020, with only more growth expected (International Organization of Migration). Immigrants from less developed nations traveling to developed nations remain a trend, but not all immigrants travel for new opportunities. While this facet of immigration is mostly public immigration, the nuances of immigrants, emigrants, and their target destinations are a rather complex issue. This paper seeks to examine this interdisciplinary study of migration, exploring the economies, politics, and societies that have built the contemporary migration experience, and reflecting its findings through case studies of immigration policy across different situations sourced from various peer-reviewed studies. In the following sections, this paper will begin to define overall theories and definitions that can be applied to different forms of migration; to examine immigration in context, this paper’s later sections establish real world examples to which these concepts can be applied, from both within and outside of the Western world. This paper concludes that immigration is too big a subject to tackle from one perspective. Though each theory may hold some merit, a thorough analysis of immigration policy requires complex explanations. To this end, this paper seeks to quantify different models of immigration between countries, as well as identify population outcomes when immigrants return to their country.

Проблеми соціальної вразливості внутрішньо переміщених осіб та вимушених мігрантів

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the problems of social vulnerability of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and forced migrants. Basing on data from the United Nations Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the International Labour Organization and data from sociological surveys of IDPs and forced migrants, the dynamic changes in the number of these population groups, their main socio-demographic characteristics, problems and risks of social rejection, intentions to return to their places of permanent residence and integration potential in the new place of stay have been studied. It is concluded that there is the high level of multifactorial social vulnerability of IDPs and forced migrants, most of whom are women with children, the elderly, the disabled, and orphans. Because of the destruction of social, economic, and cultural ties, IDPs and forced migrants have increased risks of social rejection from the political, economic life and social surroundings, the sphere of culture and education, the services of the health care system and social protection. There are reasons for the formation of significant manifestations of rejection among IDPs, in particular in terms of access to structural and economic resources to ensure basic social and economic human rights, and positions that provide an opportunity to gain access to such resources. Assessments of the integration of IDPs by the communities that receive them may indicate the presence of certain barriers to the integration of IDPs in their new place of residence. It is shown that the loss of human potential is the most negative consequence of large-scale forced migration and internal displacement of the population for the territorial communities of Ukraine. At the same time, for communities hosting IDPs, population growth can become a driver of local development.

Pirogues to Paradise?

Pirogues to Paradise?

The International Organisation for Migration and the Surveillance of the Displaced Populations of the Global South

The International Organisation for Migration and the Surveillance of the Displaced Populations of the Global South

Colonial continuities and colonial unknowing in international migration management: the International Organization for Migration reconsidered

ABSTRACT The International Organization for Migration (IOM) exerts increasing power in global migration governance, yet research on IOM’s early history is scarce. Explanations of IOM’s founding and early migration management efforts are often reduced to bipolar, Cold War politics, with the US creating the organisation outside the UN to sidestep Soviet interference. Such simplistic accounts fail to grapple with the ways in which its creation and early activities also reflected and entrenched legacies of colonialism and related racialized inequalities. Drawing on extensive archival research, this article analyses how colonial interests and biases also shaped IOM’s establishment, founding documents, and vacillating positions in decolonisation movements. It examines the organisation’s role in moving colonists out of newly independent states; facilitating settler colonial states’ preference for white migrants; and advancing western interests in having an international migration forum in which opposition to exclusionary policies was virtually non-existent. In particular, it questions the agency’s involvement in supporting white migration to Southern Africa in the apartheid era, and the sanitisation of such work from IOM’s institutional history. Theoretically, the article analyses these dynamics through the lens of ‘colonial unknowing’, thereby laying the foundation for deeper, historicised understandings of IOM’s continued, contested roles in migration management.

Migration Policy of the EU Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Convergence or Distancing?

This paper examines certain aspects of the migration policy of the EU countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has affected all areas of society, including a massive decline in population mobility in all countries of the world. The purpose of this work is to analyze the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for EU countries in the field of internal and international migration and the implementation of migration policy. The study is based on official data from Eurostat, the International Organization for Migration, the International Labor Organization, analytical reports and legal documents of the European Union as a whole, as well as individual states. The work uses analytical and comparative methods. As part of the analytical method, an analysis was made of some legal documents in the field of migration policy aimed at reducing the risks of the spread of coronavirus infection, social and legal support for certain categories of foreign citizens living in the EU countries. The comparative method made it possible to compare the tools and mechanisms for implementing individual migration policy measures during the pandemic in a number of EU countries and identify the most successful practices. Our research has shown that, on the one hand, a number of measures taken at the EU level have proved to be effective in restoring mobility and ensuring movement within the EU without restrictions. On the other hand, EU member states had fairly broad powers in matters of independent regulation of migration within their own country, focusing primarily on national interests. The results obtained in the work can be further used, firstly, for effective tools for managing migration in the event of global shocks, and secondly, for the purpose of a deeper study of the possibilities and limitations of the implementation of migration policy by states that are members of integration associations. Key words: Migration policy of the EU countries, COVID-19 pandemic, migration regime, social support for the population and migrants, migration crisis, impact of the pandemic on demographic development.

The Discourse of Humanity in COVID-19 Pandemic

Indonesia is one of the countries that are willing to accept the arrival of refugees to its territory. Although it has not yet ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Indonesia has issued Peraturan Presiden Nomor 125/2016 on international refugees. In addition, the Indonesian government, especially President Joko Widodo, issued various statements which mostly emphasized fulfilling rights and upholding humanity for refugees demonstrating Indonesia's commitment to carrying out the human values contained in the Preamble of Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 and Pancasila as a dominant discourse of Indonesia's strategic culture. However, the discourse seems to have shifted in the era after the COVID-19 pandemic which has also potentially changed the Indonesian government's treatment of refugees. The negative impacts in various sectors made Indonesia have to prioritize the safety of its citizens and potentially neglect the fulfillment of the rights of refugees. Indonesia's burden in handling refugees during the pandemic is exacerbated by the unresponsiveness of UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) which should be responsible for handling refugees. This leaves groups of refugees in a vulnerable condition because they are neglected by the Indonesian government both at the central and regional levels. Therefore, this paper tries to analyze aspects behind the shift in the Indonesian government's policy regarding foreign refugees using strategic cultural discourse and provide advice to the Indonesian government for handling refugees in pandemic and/or after pandemic situations without forgetting the humanitarian aspect of refugees.Keywords: Humanity, Strategic Culture, COVID-19, Refugees, Indonesian Government.
 Keywords: Humanity, Strategic Culture, COVID-19, Refugees, Indonesian Government

Lessons learned for surveillance system strengthening through capacity building and partnership engagement in post-Ebola Guinea, 2015-2019.

The 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in Guinea revealed systematic weaknesses in the existing disease surveillance system, which contributed to delayed detection, underreporting of cases, widespread transmission in Guinea and cross-border transmission to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia, leading to the largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded. Efforts to understand the epidemic's scale and distribution were hindered by problems with data completeness, accuracy, and reliability. In 2017, recognizing the importance and usefulness of surveillance data in making evidence-based decisions for the control of epidemic-prone diseases, the Guinean Ministry of Health (MoH) included surveillance strengthening as a priority activity in their post-Ebola transition plan and requested the support of partners to attain its objectives. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) and four of its implementing partners—International Medical Corps, the International Organization for Migration, RTI International, and the World Health Organization—worked in collaboration with the Government of Guinea to strengthen the country's surveillance capacity, in alignment with the Global Health Security Agenda and International Health Regulations 2005 objectives for surveillance and reporting. This paper describes the main surveillance activities supported by US CDC and its partners between 2015 and 2019 and provides information on the strategies used and the impact of activities. It also discusses lessons learned for building sustainable capacity and infrastructure for disease surveillance and reporting in similar resource-limited settings.

Human mobility in the context of environmental and climate change: Recent data collection tools from the International Organization for Migration to address key methodological and conceptual issues

AbstractThis paper outlines recent data collection tools and methodologies that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been using in order to gather information on human mobility as influenced by environmental factors and their impacts. It looks at alternative ways for collecting and analysing data in the face of methodological challenges related to the multicausality of movements, the voluntary/involuntary continuum in human (im)mobility decisions in the context of environmental and climate change, and the policy and epistemological imperative from viewing migration as an adaptation strategy. The paper finds that certain data collection approaches can be quickly deployed in rapid‐onset disasters as well as applied in contexts of gradual, slow‐onset environmental change to provide information useful for operational responses to immediate crises and/or for developing policies in response. Some of the tools can be useful in both contexts and may support both immediate and long‐term operational, policy and research objectives.

“Experiences of African student migrants in Moscow”: Understanding the uses of digital technologies for social services during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has attracted a plethora of research from medical-related disciplines other than sociological and migration disciplines . While a significant number of research papers have considered the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures on students, their observations are not directly applicable to the over 5.3 million international students across the globe. The purpose of this study is to understand how African Student Migrants (ASMs) used technologies for social services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Moscow. This study adopted a qualitative research approach to understand the use of digital technologies for social services among 40 ASMs sampled through purposive and snowballing techniques. The findings established that, the use of digital technologies by ASMs played an instrumental role in social services such as accommodation, learning and purchasing patterns rather than social communication, religious or cultural practices, psychological and physical health, and dieting during the COVID-19 pandemic. For policy-level recommendations, tech-savvy developers, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the African Union (AU) should collaborate and create digital technologies that are suitable for social services; devise an information platform to capture basic information about ASMs that will enable them to streamline welfare stimulus packages essential to their survival in times of pandemics. This will also serve as a coping mechanism for society to prepare for new social emergencies and use digital technologies to calibrate international education and inform future policies on public health, school closures and mobility beyond borders.

Self-rated health and quality of life among Syrian refugees in Ireland – data from a cross-sectional study

IntroductionAs a response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the Irish government agreed to accept up to 4000 refugees for resettlement in Ireland in 2016. Prior to their arrival in Ireland, health screening was carried out by the International Organisation for Migration. However, no population-level measurement of the health status or needs takes place in Ireland to inform policy or health services requirements.MethodsCross-sectional data from a self-completed questionnaire among 194 Syrian Refugees aged 16 years and older resident in reception centres in Ireland in 2017/2018 is reported upon. The questionnaire measured self-reported health including quality of life and all study material were available in English and Arabic. The data was examined applying descriptive statistics and regression analysis.ResultsSyrian Refugees in Ireland consist of a relatively young cohort; in this study the majority of participants were younger than 35 years (69.5%). Two-thirds of the respondents reported their overall health status to be good or very good. The most common health condition was found to be headache and the most common medications used were painkillers. Chronic pain was experienced by one quarter of respondents; 27.5% were considered as suffering from anxiety and 10.0% had symptoms compatible with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A significant relationship was observed between chronic pain and self-rated health, as well as between chronic pain and anxiety. Quality of life (QoL) scores were lowest for the QoL environment domain.ConclusionsChronic pain is relatively widespread among these young and otherwise healthy refugees. Psychological distress and trauma are important factors in respondents’ quality of life scores. Chronic pain is associated with one’s mental health. Our findings and the literature suggests that the diagnosis and treatment of pain and providing care in a culturally sensitive manner should be a priority and included in the preparation and training of the relevant care providers. Additionally, the impact of living conditions on quality of life should not be underestimated.

Immunisation status of UK-bound refugees between January, 2018, and October, 2019: a retrospective, population-based cross-sectional study

SummaryBackgroundWHO's new Immunization Agenda 2030 places a focus on ensuring migrants and other marginalised groups are offered catch-up vaccinations across the life-course. Yet, it is not known to what extent specific groups, such as refugees, are immunised according to host country schedules, and the implications for policy and practice. We aimed to assess the immunisation coverage of UK-bound refugees undergoing International Organization for Migration (IOM) health assessments through UK resettlement schemes, and calculate risk factors for under-immunisation.MethodsWe undertook a retrospective cross-sectional study of all refugees (children <10 years, adolescents aged 10–19 years, and adults >19 years) in the UK resettlement programme who had at least one migration health assessment conducted by IOM between Jan 1, 2018 and Oct 31, 2019, across 18 countries. Individuals' recorded vaccine coverage was calculated and compared with the UK immunisation schedule and the UK Refugee Technical Instructions. We carried out multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess factors associated with varying immunisation coverage.FindingsOur study included 12 526 refugees of 36 nationalities (median age 17 years [IQR 7–33]; 6147 [49·1%] female; 7955 [63·5%] Syrian nationals). 26 118 vaccine doses were administered by the IOM (most commonly measles, mumps, and rubella [8741 doses]). During the study, 6870 refugees departed for the UK, of whom 5556 (80·9%) had at least one recorded dose of measles-containing vaccine and 5798 (84·4%) had at least one dose of polio vaccine, as per the UK Refugee Technical Instructions, and 1315 (19·1%) had at least one recorded dose of diphtheria-containing vaccine or tetanus-containing vaccine. 764 (11·1%) of refugees were fully aligned with the UK schedule for polio, compared with 2338 (34·0%) for measles and 380 (5·5%) for diphtheria and tetanus. Adults were significantly less likely than children to be in line with the UK immunisation schedule for polio (odds ratio 0·0013, 95% CI 0·0001–0·0052) and measles (0·29, 0·25–0·32).InterpretationOn arrival to the UK, refugees' recorded vaccination coverage is suboptimal and varies by age, nationality, country of health assessment, and by disease, with particularly low coverage reported for diphtheria and tetanus, and among adult refugees. These findings have important implications for the delivery of refugee pre-entry health assessments and catch-up vaccination policy and delivery targeting child, adolescent, and adults migrants in the UK, and other refugee-receiving countries. This research highlights the need for improved data sharing and clearer definition of where responsibilities lie between host countries and health assessment providers.FundingUK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR300072) and Medical Research Council (MR/N013638/1).

Did we get civic activism wrong? Understanding the waltz between constructive and aggressive civic tendencies in Bosnia–Herzegovina

PurposeDespite the end of conflict in 1995, Bosnia–Herzegovina still suffers from unresolved ethnic and social tensions, where fostering social cohesion, active citizenship and mitigating ethnonationalist tensions and politically motivated violence remains among the main goals to achieve transformative peace. This paper, based on quantitative analyses of 3,637 adult respondents, shows that the tendency of Bosnians to be active or violent citizens sometimes overlaps and are not very distinct patterns of behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that differentiate pathways and help explain (un)civil civic behaviours and inform the work of peace and development actors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a quantitative household survey conducted with a representative sample of 3,637 adults in Bosnia and by using a wide range of statistical tools from scaling to correlation analysis. This data set measures factors and conceptual notions associated with passive, constructive and aggressive civic tendencies and social cohesion in a nuanced way by using different metrics and scales. The survey was designed and conducted by The Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and the Bosnia–Herzegovina Resilience Initiative in 2020, in partnership with The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/The Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) and The International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the SCORE Bosnia–Herzegovina study (SeeD, 2020).FindingsOverall, the factors that were discovered to be linked to the manifestation of constructive and aggressive civic tendencies are multidimensional, and range from intergroup relations (e.g. tension, tolerance) to political and civic attitudes (e.g. ethnonationalism, civic responsibility, gender equality), from individual traits (e.g. education, economic stress) to the media landscape (e.g. information consumption). While the empirical evidence shows that some of these factors can push citizens towards both active and violent civic behaviours simultaneously, this study identifies and distinguishes those that can reduce aggressive civic tendencies while increasing constructive civic tendencies.Practical implicationsThis paper proposes a replicable approach and evidence-based conclusions which can help validate the theories of change for the peace and development actors to ensure that scarce peacebuilding resources are invested where the impact is greatest, and the actors can protect the sanctity of their responsibility to do no harm.Social implicationsThis paper seeks to provide a robust empirical understanding for more effective policy-making and programming that can support Bosnia–Herzegovina’s endogenous resilience against socio-political shocks and transformative peace trajectory. This paper seeks to demonstrate how peace and development actors can build and use an evidence-base for understanding civic behaviours and as a result formulate tailored efforts with greater likelihood of impact. This would help fulfil commitments towards sustainable development goals and the 2030 global agenda (UN General Assembly, 2015).Originality/valueThis study contributes insights to the emerging literature at the nexus of peacebuilding, individual skills/attitudes and civic behaviour. While the conclusions are highly contextual, the methodology is informed by multidisciplinary literature and is replicable in other post-conflict and non-conflict contexts, and thus can be used for cross-country comparisons and theory building around civic activism and constructive citizenship. The approach distinguishes between passive citizens, constructive activists, aggressive activists and purely violent citizens. This study discovers that the bifurcation is between passive citizens and active citizens, and although constructive and aggressive civic tendencies might be theorised to be contradictory, they overlap and tend to co-occur.

Мігранти із неврегульованим статусом в Україні: спроба кількісної оцінки

Ukraine is in a similar position to many other countries in the world in regards to the challenges in accurately estimating migrants irregularly staying in the country. The lack of reliable estimates has for a long time prevented the government authorities from planning an adequate response to irregular migration in the country, including the development of regularisation programmes. Furthermore, the lack of reliable estimates also results in the replication of obviously exaggerated information on the number of irregular migrants, promotes the spread of migrant-related phobias and allows for irregular migration to be misused in political dialogue. The purpose of the article is to form an estimate of the number of migrants (foreign citizens and stateless persons) staying in Ukraine without legal grounds. The novelty of the study lies in the creation of a scientifically sound algorithm for estimating the number of migrants with unregulated status. The presented assessment is based on the data of official statistics of the state executive authorities of Ukraine using the achievements of international experience and the results of surveys conducted during the study realized by the International Organization for Migration in 2020. Research methods: analysis of documents - regulations, statistics, research materials; sociological methods; system of methods for estimating the volume of unregulated migration (methods of multiplication, coefficients, demographic method, method of re-accounting, method of building social networks, etc.); comparative method. An assessment of unregulated migration trends in Ukraine is made on the basis of official data. It is established that in Ukraine there is a significant increase in the number of detected migrants with unregulated status by the State Migration Service of Ukraine, an increase in the number of potential migrants with unregulated status who were denied entry by the State Border Guard Service and a tendency to stabilization in the number of detainees. A system of methods for estimating the number of migrants with unregulated status is proposed, and, based on its application, it is established that the corresponding number in Ukraine at the end of 2019 ranged from 37.7 to 60.9 thousand people. An algorithm for estimating the number of migrants with unregulated status in the coming years is developed.

“You can make it here!”: Producing Europe’s mobile borders in the New Gambia

European border externalization to “sending states” throughout Africa is a well-documented phenomenon. Less clear, however, is the role that African governments and implementing organizations play in border externalization, nor the precise mechanisms by which European borders are “mobilized” (Szary & Giraut, 2015) and projected into everyday spaces in “sending states”. Drawing on a case study of three different European border enforcement projects in The Gambia, I argue that a collaboration between the International Organization for Migration, the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, and the Gambian government makes Gambians themselves agents of the European border. Drawing upon Szary and Giraut's notion of “borderities” (2015), I illustrate how the border is projected into The Gambia through an articulation of humanitarian borderwork with developmental approaches intended to solve the “root causes of migration” (Zaun & Nantermoz, 2021). Furthermore, I argue that the Gambian government is not passive in the process of border externalization, but actively involved in interpreting and rearticulating European policies and narratives about migration. Following Adamson and Tsourapas' (2020) reworking of the “migration state” concept, I demonstrate the Gambian government's active interests in bordering its own citizens: simultaneously encouraging emigration for the sake of national “development” while immobilizing young Gambians as part of a broader strategy to cooperate with European states. This research illustrates both the immense value of a “borderities” approach to studying contemporary migration management, and the close association between borderwork and nationhood in African post-colonial states.

Waves of Extremism: An Applied Ethnographic Analysis of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Terraces.

This article offers an overview of a four-month research project, conducted in 2019/2020, which studied extremism in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) football terraces. This work was funded by the International Organisation for Migration - United Nations and by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The research focused on risk factors and how these may govern the “entry” of BiH youth into extreme hard-core football fans groups (Ultras1) and prolong their involvement in them. The study highlighted the nature of these groups and their activity providing detailed recommendations for BiH policymakers, security agencies, and football federations and clubs who wish to understand and effectively respond to this emergent threat for public security in BiH.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM): “Competent Structure” and “Inevitable Choice” for Russia and China to Affect Global Migration Governance?

This article focuses on IOM and its place in global migration governance. China’s and Russia’s memberships were considered overdue, considering the relevance of both countries for the global migration system and their respective weight on the international stage. We aim to contribute to advancing research on IOM as an organization of increasing global relevance and on its engagement with member states, moving beyond the “usual” focus on the European Union (EU) member states, African, North American, and South American immigration and sending countries. Our analysis draws upon recent research, which conceptualizes intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) as “world organizations” and which we fi nd interesting and applicable to our empirical inquiry and discussion of IOM. We regard IOM as a “world organization” that could be examined along four interrelated components: (1) its “internal world” (e.g., establishment, relations with states, internal decisions); (2) its self-image and self-reference as an organization integrated into and referring to world society, hence as the “world of migration governance”; (3) its external relations, integration into wider environments, and responses to external events; and (4) its contribution to the world order, i.e., global migration governance. Our analysis shows that due to its new status as a related organization of the UN, its leading role in the Global Compact on Migration, and China and Russia becoming its new members, IOM will likely play an increasingly signifi cant role in global migration governance. The main reason for this is the need to reactivate the existing modes of migration governance and adapt them to a drastically changed global political and migration-related situation following the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to their memberships in IOM, China and Russia have already been able to benefi t from the IOM assistance. Provided that both countries continue to engage with IOM and provide more substantial funding to it, IOM’s assistance to both China and Russia could be expanded. Meanwhile, both countries may take a position, which would allow them to exert a more signifi cant infl uence on IOM and global migration governance.

Migration and Institutional Inertia: Restructuring the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, 1958–1961

Abstract When the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (icem), today the International Organization for Migration (iom), was born in 1951, its main objective was to alleviate demographic pressure in post-war Europe by relocating workers and their families to overseas countries lacking in workforce. But after the European continent’s rapid recovery in the decade that followed, icem did not disappear. Instead, it tried to adapt to the changes and focussed on new objectives in order to maintain its role as a necessary organsation. This article focuses on the crisis icem experienced circa 1960. Based on the analysis of sources from the organisation, government documents and press from that period, I attempt to explain to what extent the restructuring undertaken from 1958 to 1961 signified a real attempt to adapt to the new social reality, and to what extent it was due to the force of inertia and the aim to carry on.