African Migrations

IMI aims to improve the understanding of migration patterns within, to and from Africa over time. Despite the considerable attention paid to African migration in public discourse, there is still only a partial view of the realities of migration in Africa. This is partly because much research is driven by the narrow policy agendas of industrialised states.

We are establishing a hub that connects researchers across the continent, bridging geographical divisions between sub-Saharan and North Africa and bridging the linguistic and cultural divide between Anglophone, Francophone and Arabic academic traditions. We work with African researchers and universities to support research and to improve research capacity.

View a page about free academic resources on African migrations.

Ongoing activities

Mobility in the African Great Lakes (2012-2013)

In this project, we seek to move beyond the crisis framework that dominates examinations of human mobility in the Great Lakes region, and we set out to analyse the complex mix of motivations that can be identified in any individual’s movements. Read more about the Mobility in the African Great Lakes project...

African diasporas within Africa (2011-2015)

This project is part of the Oxford Leverhulme Diasporas Programme, a five-year 12-project programme linking six departments and units across the University. IMI leads this project that explores diasporas within Africa. As policies and attitudes of exclusion become embedded in African states and societies, are we seeing the emergence of new diasporas? The project address the impacts of forcible expulsions and voluntary migration on African communities. Read more about the African Diasporas Programme...

Theorizing the Evolution of European Migration Systems (THEMIS) (2010–2013)

This project looks at the way in which patterns of migration develop. It focuses on the conditions and processes that encourage initial moves to become established migration systems and lead to their breakdown. THEMIS theoretical contribution is to bridge the theories on initiation and continuation of migration, and to integrate the concept of `agency’ in the systems theory approach to migration. Read more about the THEMIS project...

Imagining Europe from the Outside (EUMAGINE) (2010-2012)

This is a collaborative European research project in which IMI is a partner. The project aims to investigate how perceptions of human rights and democracy impact migrants’ aspirations and decisions. Two of the countries being studied are Morocco and Senegal. Read more about the EUMAGINE project...

Online Tools

IMI is developing two continually updated online tools to map existing expertise and facilitate collaboration among researchers in Africa.

The Online Library contains detailed references to articles, reports and unpublished documents on migration in Africa.
The Researcher Directory provides information about our academic contacts with expertise in African migration.

Global Migration Futures: Horn of Africa and Yemen (2012)

This project assesses future global migration trends to, from and within the Horn of Africa and Yemen. This is done through elaborating scenarios, as an innovative research methodology, taking account of likely future social, economic, political, demographic and environmental change in various world regions. Read more about the Global Migration Futures project...

African Perspectives on Human Mobility (2008-2011)

This project explores alternative conceptions of human mobility based on empirical research in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria. It also develops the capacity of African institutions to undertake state-of-the-art migration research. Read more about the African Perspectives on Human Mobility project...