Editorial, May 2020

Our world has experienced unprecedented changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic since our first Editorial back in January 2020. The anxiety of the present reminds us of the importance of scientific expertise and demonstrates the necessity of opening space for intellectual exchanges among migration scholars to reflect on the current situation and contemplate what is coming next. This issue hosts a very timely Special Section on new Chinese migration modalities focusing on China under the framework of new dynamics related to Chinese migration. The articles explore the effects of circular and transitory nature of current mobilities on the Chinese economy and the country’s global position. The recent pandemic related developments prove how important it is to understand the linkages and interconnectedness of the world. As promised in our first Editorial note at the beginning of the year, we are now launching two new sections in International Migration: Commentaries and Book Reviews. In addition to the conventional, blind-reviewed article format, we believe that the invited commentaries will open a window of dialogue between the research and policy sides of international migration, and book reviews will keep us up-to-date with the ever-growing migration research in different parts of the world. Our first set of commentaries addresses issues related to various facets of our broken system of international protection, with references to the implications of the current pandemic adding a new layer to an ongoing challenge. Our first three commentators are Prof. Down Chatty of the University of Oxford, Prof. Anna Triandafyllidou of Ryerson University and Apostolos Veizis of Doctors without Borders (MSF), Greece. All three commentaries are centred on the limits of transnational solidarity in meeting the humanitarian responsibility to provide protection to those in need. While Chatty provides an overview of the regional and European response to the displacement of millions from Syria, she reflects on how fast public opinion and political stances in Europe changed drastically from conditional hospitality to hostility. Echoing this background, Triandafyllidou writes on border closures as an immediate response to Covid-19. She invites us to contemplate the functioning of transnational solidarity before and during the pandemic. Veizis looks closely at the already deteriorating living conditions of refugees in the Greek island encampments under the threat of Covid-19. All three commentaries urgently call for solidarity with those left behind in these difficult times and highlight different actors and ways of developing channels of transnational solidarity. One immediate effect of the current crisis on migration has been the rapid closing of national borders to prevent the spread of the virus. One would think that the public health threat and economic downturn would provide sufficient justification for draconian measures of immigration control and rising anti-immigration discourse. Yet, we also depend on the mobility of knowledge and expertise to deal with the pandemic. As scholars of migration, we are writing this editorial note while confined in the comfort of our homes, relying on technology to operate. At the same time, doctors, nurses, cleaners, delivery personnel, cashiers, garbage collectors, and farmers, among other essential frontline workers, are risking their lives to contain the effects of Covid-19. While knowledge work may continue remotely for an unforeseen amount of time, the fate of our societies depends on the work of essential workers, a considerable proportion of whom are ethnic minorities who range from highly skilled to unskilled workers – particularly in the developed world –. It has been an exceptional time for everyone in the social sciences but especially those working on mobility. The consequences of the pandemic on migration – particularly with regard to care work, remittances, South-North mobility, labour relations and tourism – are yet be evaluated with the help of good scholarship. While it will likely take some time to truly see the impacts, we have yet to explore and analyse the implications of the situation for global inequalities based on geography, social class, race, gender, religion, etc. Hence, the new section of book reviews aims to shed light on the fruits of good scholarship from different parts of the world. In this issue, along with academic articles that are the backbone of our journal and the invited commentaries, we included two book reviews. The book The Big Gamble. The Migration of Eritreans to Europe, by Milena Belloni, is an excellent example of an extended, multi-sided ethnography, revealing motivations and the decision-making of young Eritreans on their way to Italy despite their continuous sense of being trapped along the way. The second book, by Yossi Harpaz, Citizenship 2.0: Dual Nationality as a Global Asset explores compensatory citizenship acquisition by citizens of Serbia, Mexico and Israel as a strategy for global upward mobility. The book is a good example of the blending of global trends with detailed case studies. In this issue, we intentionally solicited reviews of the first books written by young, promising scholars. We anticipate that our book reviews section will continue to highlight not only good scholarship but also topics or regions that are often overlooked. Despite the possible complications awaiting all of us, we, as editors of International Migration, are committed to continuing to operate with enthusiasm and providing a sense of the vast changes that our global yet unequally im(mobile) world is experiencing. In this context, we look forward to receiving your suggestions, ideas and contributions for making IM more valuable for our research community.

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