University of Glasgow and Tufts University to explore refugee crisis responses

Research exploring how Europe and the United States handle refugee crises and the impact of their responses on migration governance will be undertaken by the University of Glasgow and Tufts University, USA.

’Securitisation Without Security: How Migration is Shaping the Global Order’ has been awarded a $500,000 research grant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The two-year project, co-led by Professor Gerasimos Tsourapas, of the School of Social & Political Sciences, and Professor Katrina Burgess from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, will investigate how migration and state security measures have created new political levers both within and between states.

Key areas of analysis include the weaponization of migrants by transit states, the role of illicit political economies, and the development of alternative strategies for managing these challenges. The project will also examine whether - and how - the increasingly restrictive migration policies of Europe and the United States are undermining security at local, regional, and global levels.

Professor Tsourapas commented: "This is a fantastic opportunity to compare how Europe and the United States handle refugee crises and explore the impact of their responses on migration governance. It ties into the exciting work happening across the University of Glasgow on forced migration, with great potential for collaboration and synergies with colleagues at Tufts University and beyond."

The project is part of the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s funding scheme focused on "Understanding the Forces Shaping the Global Order." It will address two critical aspects of migration: the erosion of state authority to non-state actors embedded in illicit political economies along migratory routes, and the weaponization of irregular migrants by states positioned strategically along these routes.

Over the next two years, the project team will conduct both desk and field research, publishing their findings in policy briefs, blog posts, story maps, and academic papers. They will also host workshops with policymakers to co-create alternative scenarios for the global order over the next decade.

Professors Tsourapas and Burgess are eager to advance this crucial research and contribute to a deeper understanding of migration’s role in shaping global political dynamics.