Current Issues in Migration Research now welcomes submissions to both the Special Section on "New Directions in Emigration Studies" and to the General Section for articles more broadly concerned with the topic of migration.

 

Special Section on "New Directions in Emigration Studies" 

Recent research on emigration has undergone a significant conceptual, analytical and methodological evolution.

Contemporary scholarship is strongly interdisciplinary and examines both the structural and individual determinants that shape decisions to emigrate; ranging from socio-economic inequalities, labour market dynamics, political conditions, and environmental pressures, to aspirations, capabilities and life-course considerations. Existing research acknowledges that emigration is not a one-way ticket to another place, and that emigrants maintain ongoing relationships with their places of origin, highlighting the importance of transnational and translocal practices, diaspora engagement, and the circulation of resources and ideas. A substantive body of scholarly work engages with the effects of emigration on origin societies. These include economic impacts such as remittances, investments, and labour market effects; social (remittances) and cultural consequences related to family life, gender roles, and the transmission of norms; demographic changes involving population decline, aging, or reshaping of communities; and political implications ranging from diaspora mobilization and voting participation to questions of representation and state legitimacy. In parallel, research on the governance of emigration has gained prominence, exploring how states develop diaspora and emigration policies, manage emigration for development or international recognition, and attempt to mobilize diaspora or regulate their activities abroad. Historical perspectives have further enriched the field by situating contemporary dynamics within longer trajectories of mobility and by tracing how past emigration experiences inform present-day policies, identities, and imaginaries.

Within this context, this CIMR special issue calls for contributions that engage with these developments and push the field in new directions. We welcome submissions that address emigration from theoretical, empirical, methodological, or artistic perspectives, and that reflect the plurality of approaches that characterize emigration research today. Contributions may:

• draw on qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods;
• develop conceptual or comparative frameworks;
• analyse policy processes;
• explore lived experiences;
• experiment with creative and interdisciplinary forms of knowledge production.

Submissions that highlight under- researched regions and emigrant populations, little heard perspectives and voices, and that challenge established/orthodox assumptions are especially encouraged.

We also invite submissions that are broadly concerned with the topic of migration for the General Section of the journal. 

Please submit your full-length article to the submission portal of the journal website: https://ojs.mau.se/index.php/cimr/about/submissions. The deadline for submission is 15 October 2026 (contact the editorial team for later deadlines ahead of time). We aim to publish the issue in January 2027.