IMISCOE 12th ANNUAL CONFERENCE nccr – on the move 1st ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Call for papers for the panel: "Return Migration and Psychosocial Wellbeing: Discourses, Policy-Making and Outcomes for Migrants and their Families"
Organizers: Dr. Zana Vathi, Edge Hill University, UK and Prof. Russell King, University of Sussex, UK and Malmö University, Sweden
Deadline for application: 19 December 2014
Notification of acceptance: 9 January 2015
Submission of panel proposal to IMISCOE: 14 January 2015
There exists a growing body of literature on the effects of migration on migrants' psychosocial wellbeing. Different studies have identified migration as a trigger for various negative outcomes, and, to a certain extent, have also documented migrants' resilience and coping strategies. Nonetheless, there is little research on the effects of return migration on the psychosocial wellbeing of returnees, particularly in the case of 'voluntary' return. Indeed, some studies are explicit in considering return to the country of origin as psychosocially safe, viewing return migration as the natural end of the migration cycle, despite return being an undesirable option for many migrants. The nexus between return and psychosocial wellbeing is potentially fraught with tensions, not least because of radical policies and programs that aim to or enforce return migration (e.g. visa regimes, assisted voluntary return, deportation, etc.), but also because of the socio-cultural dissonance that return exposes.
This panel will focus on the effects of return migration on psychosocial wellbeing by unpacking the return process and expanding the focus to include various actors and stakeholders that may impact migrants' wellbeing in the process of return. We invite research papers that investigate both the effects of 'voluntary' return, as well as the role of policies and programs on 'forced' return, and touch upon the themes outlined below and other related topics:
- Human rights, legal provisions and the regulation of return migration
- Assisted voluntary return (AVR); detention; deportation
- The impact of visa regimes
- Policy analysis, discourses on return in host and home countries and the framing of psychosocial wellbeing
- 'Voluntary' return and effects on migrants and their families
- Adaptation upon return and coping strategies
- (Un)sustainability of return, circular migration and impact on psychosocial wellbeing
- Access to mental health services in the host and home countries
- Policy-makers' views on the impact of return migration on migrants' and their families' psychosocial wellbeing
- Perspectives of service providers and practitioners on logistics and the impact of various forms of return
- Comparative perspectives between the impact of 'voluntary' and 'forced' return
- Generational differences and the impact of return migration on children
- The converse link: the impact of psychosocial wellbeing on return migration
A selection of papers will be prepared as a special volume. Please send an abstract of 300 words, specifying the main research question, methods and findings, to Dr. Zana Vathi [