Understanding Immobility: Moving Beyond the Mobility Bias in Migration Research

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 7. Dynamics of Incorporation

Abstract

Immobility is remarkably common, yet migration theories are generally unequipped to explain why. This paper suggests that there is a mobility bias in migration research: by focusing on the ‘drivers’ of migration – the forces that lead to the initiation and perpetuation of migration flows – migration theories neglect the countervailing structural and personal forces that restrict or resist these drivers and lead to different immobility outcomes. To advance a research agenda on immobility, this paper offers a definition of immobility; further develops the aspiration-capability framework as an analytical tool for exploring the determinants of different forms of (im)mobility; synthesizes decades of interdisciplinary research to help explain why people do not migrate or desire to migrate; and considers future directions for further qualitative and quantitative research on immobility.

Author

• Kerilyn Schewel, University of Amsterdam