Philippe DE LOMBAERDE, professor at NEOMA BS, Economics, Cultures and International Affairs Department, is the co-editor of a new publication on “Migration, Free Movement and Regional Integration”, with Sonja Nita, Antoine Pécoud, Kate Neyts and Joshua Gartland, December 2017.

Extract from the foreword
“... This book brings together a host of well-known scholars to analyse, from a cross-disciplinary perspective, the different approaches to free movement used by some 30 regional organizations. It also presents a comparative review of the various measures taken and obstacles encountered by these organizations to highlight current and emerging trends. A dominant feature in regional arrangements, irrespective of the economic, ‘political-security’ and socio-cultural context, is the framing of free movement agreements around potential economic gains for citizens or a perceived shared regional identity. The latter is premised on common interests with regard to specific migration challenges and/or the mutual trust that is forged by a common past. Another important characteristic is the influence of domestic politics on the implementation of regional priorities. Concerns over border security and fears of political backlash in contexts marked by socio-economic inequalities may affect the commitment to arrangements seeking to further liberalize free movement and result in divergences from agreed regional standards. The aforementioned obstacles, the severity of which differs from region to region, have had significant consequences on the rights of migrants and most notably among the most disadvantaged. Against the backdrop of intensifying international efforts to reinforce migration-related commitments and relevant implementation frameworks, we hope that the findings presented in this publication will prove relevant beyond the research community, to decision-makers, policy-makers and civil society actors in Member States and organizations.”
Nada Al-Nashif, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO
Madeleine Hosli, Director, UNU-CRIS

>Online book