Conducting Comparative Migration Research in MENA: Are the Regional Countries too Unique or too Similar for Comparisons of Refugee Policies?

Abstract

The paper argues that the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are neither too unique nor too similar for conducting comparative migration research. However, the systematic review of three leading journals in the field of migration studies illustrates that comparative studies addressing migration in the region remain scarce. Relying on a review of the literature and interviews with scholars conducting comparative migration research in the MENA region, this paper contends that an examination of the countries located in MENA, which are subject to the same forced mass migration situation during the same time period, is advantageous for comparative analysis. Despite these advantages, however, making comparisons within regions is a very challenging scholarly endeavor due to intraregional variations, the rapidly changing security, political and policy environment in the regional countries, and the lack of adequate research institutions and funding supporting large-scale research. In addition to identifying advantages and challenges, this paper discusses how scholars make decisions about what to compare and how to compare in studying migration in, from and through MENA. The article also provides concrete empirical examples that address policy patterns, changes over time and drivers of refugee governance by comparing the cases of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Keywords

• Middle East and North Africa
• comparative migration
• refugee policies
• case selection
• methodology

References

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