After a long time of neglect, migration has entered the arena of international politics with a force. The 2018 Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (GCM) is the latest and most comprehensive framework for global migration governance. Despite these dynamics, migration is still predominantly framed as a state-centric policy issue that needs to be managed in a top-down manner. This book proposes a difference approach: A truly multi-stakeholder, multi-level and rights-based governance with meaningful participation of migrant civil society. Drawing on 15 years of participant observation on all levels of migration governance, the book maps out the relevant actors, "invited" and "invented" spaces for participation as well as alternative discourses and framing strategies by migrant civil society. It thus provides a comprehensive and timely overview on global migration governance from below, starting with the first UN High Level Dialogue in 2006, evolving around the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and leading up to the consultations for the International Migration Review Forum in 2022.

In migration research, studies on the influence of return migrants on the societies in their home countries are still few and predominantly concentrate on the economic dimension of migration. The literature on democratization has likewise paid only scant attention to the external factors that play a role in the transition of states in the process of becoming more democratic. Cognizant of these lacunae in research on migration and democratization, this book sets out to argue that return migrants can play an important role in the consolidation process of young democracies. The goal is therefore to explore the nature of this influence and to discuss its stabilizing as well as destabilizing aspects with regards to democratization. As a case study this book analyzes "labor exporter par excellence," the Philippines. Research is based on original data: a survey in the Philippines with 2,000 respondents, 37 in-depth interviews with respondents from the sample, and 45 expert interviews serving as background material. The destinations covered are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong. This book discusses whether labor migration can affect democratization processes and what impact the political order of the host country has on this potential effect. It attests the potential of the migration experience to affect migrants' attitudes towards democracy, thus playing an important role in the support needed for democracies in the stage of consolidation. Our findings suggest that the migration experience may not only lead to a more critical stance towards the political system of the home country; there are also indicators of lesser support for the principles of democracy when compared to migrants about to leave the country for the first time. The political system of the destination as such seems to be a less decisive factor than the specific freedoms and restrictions experienced by migrants and a potential bias when selecting the destination.

Der Zusammenhang von Migration und Demokratie stellt ein bislang weitgehend vernachlassigtes Forschungsfeld dar. So hat die Demokratisierungsliteratur Einflussen von unten und von aussen, wie sie Migration darstellen kann, lange Zeit wenig Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Und auch in der Migrationsforschung wird nur selten explizit auf Konzepte und Strukturen der Demokratie Bezug genommen. Der vorliegende Sammelband bietet eine erste und umfassende Bestandsaufnahme der vielfaltigen Verbindungen von Migration und Demokratie und gibt Anstosse fur eine weitere konzeptionelle und empirische Erforschung des Themenfelds au