Introduction: Mediterranean Migration Studies – A Research Agenda for the Coming Years

This volume seeks to cover the overall Mediterranean regional dimension on migrations. The basic purpose is to provide a basis for future research synergies by showcasing a plurality of perspectives to and applications of Mediterranean Migrations. This provides a direct opportunity and a reflective invitation to think the Mediterranean as a category of analysis for migration studies, which involves both a regional approach to migration and as “scale thinking” of geo-political governance. This broad geographical scope, coupled with cross-cutting and inter-disciplinary contributions, as well as the key-fact that this volume seeks to integrate regional, national, and North-Eastern-South complementarities are the distinctive features of its focus. It links Mediterranean and Migration Studies by articulating three sub-regions (Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Middle East) or the so-called Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) countries in the EU parlance.