Deadline: November 12, 2026
Full link to apply: https://migrationpolicycentre.eu/events/?id=590186
The call for papers is open for this conference, which will bring together scholars from across disciplines to exchange research and perspectives on the challenges and changes shaping migration in Europe and beyond.
Across Europe and beyond, migration governance is being reshaped by large-scale displacement, geopolitical instability, demographic change, climate crisis, evolving public attitudes, and ongoing efforts to reform asylum and migration systems. Recent developments, including the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, have brought renewed attention to questions of responsibility-sharing, border management, protection, and international cooperation. At the same time, these developments raise broader questions about how states, international organisations, political parties, social movements, cities, civil society actors and migrants themselves shape, contest and negotiate increasingly complex patterns of mobility and displacement.
The 2027 MPC Annual Conference, ‘Governing migration, contesting borders: Power, mobility and protection in Europe and beyond’, will bring together scholars from migration studies, political science, economics, sociology, geography, anthropology, law, international relations and related fields to examine contemporary transformations in migration governance.
While focusing on Europe, the conference situates European developments within wider comparative and global perspectives, encouraging reflection on how migration governance is shaped by transnational dynamics, geopolitical change, political contestation, and struggles over mobility, protection, rights and belonging.
We are currently welcoming theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions from scholars wishing to participate in the conference by presenting a paper. The deadline for submission of applications is Thursday 12 November 2026.
To support broad and globally inclusive participation, a very limited number of travel and accommodation grants may be made available, on an exceptional basis, to scholars based in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Given the primarily academic nature of the conference, applicants are expected to be at least at PhD level (doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers or more senior scholars). Financial support will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, and applicants must provide a clear and compelling justification of their financial need, as well as demonstrate the academic relevance and potential contribution of their participation in the conference. Please note that these grants provide only a limited contribution towards travel and accommodation expenses and are not intended to cover the full costs of attending the conference. Applicants should therefore be prepared to secure additional funding to cover any remaining expenses.