Understanding the causes of forced migration, the decision making of asylum seekers and the impacts of policy making in relation to the journeys that people make has been a significant theme of my research since the early 2000s. All of my work on migration decision making challenges the assumptions that are made about the reasons why people move and where they decide to go. Based on evidence collected from literally thousands of people in multiple contexts, I argue that these assumptions are associated with migration policy categories that undermine the effectiveness of asylum and migration systems and the rights of those who move for protection and a better life.
At the beginning of my career I worked for the UK Home Office, establishing a new programme of research on asylum and immigration issues which included research on the decision making and knowledge networks of asylum seekers, the impact of EU policies, various aspects of the asylum determination process (legal representation, use of country information) and effectiveness of family visitor appeals. My work in this area continued at IPPR with the publication of States of Conflict: Causes and Patterns of Forced Migration to the EU and Policy Responses (with Professor Stephen Castles and Sean Loughna) and subsequently with Chance or Choice? Understanding Why Asylum Seekers Come to the UK which was based on research undertaken with the Refugee Council exploring the factors shaping the journeys of asylum seekers.
These interests continued with the MEDMIG project which led to a number of journal articles which challenge the idea of linear journeys made between two places and the idea that refugees and other migrants have a complete picture of policy and life opportunities in different countries on which to base their decisions on where to travel.
Deciding where to go: policies, people and perceptions shaping destination preferences was written with Dr Jessica Hagen-Zanker at ODI and published in International Migration. It examines the destination preferences of those crossing the Mediterranean in 2015 and the extent to which they were aware of, and/or influenced by, policies intended to control and manage their arrival.
Beyond here and there: reconceptualising migrant journeys and the ‘in-between’ written with Professor Katharine Jones and published by the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS), explores the journeys of Syrians, Nigerians and Afghans drawing on empirical data gathered in Turkey, Greece and Italy during 2015. The article argues that even for those who eventually arrived in Europe, the places to which people initially travelled were often destination rather than ‘transit countries’. It was only when life became untenable and a decision was made to move that these places took on a state of ‘in-betweenness’, most commonly as part of a personal narrative mobilised by respondents to make sense of the broader arc of their life experiences.
Finally, Between a rock and a hard place: Afghan migration to Europe from Iran written with Dr Esra Kaytaz examines the experiences of Afghans who travelled to Europe from Iran, where they had been living for many years, and in some cases had been born. Their experiences, particularly when seen in the context of Afghan mobility historically, complicate dichotomies between “forced” and “voluntary” migration, and “origin” and “destination” countries, which underpin the Common European Asylum System.
Resources
Crawley, H. and Kaytaz, E. (2022) Between a rock and a hard place: Afghan migration to Europe from Iran, Social Inclusion 10(3)
Crawley, H. and Jones, K. (2020) Beyond here and there: (re)conceptualising migrant journeys and the ‘in-between’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 47 (14), 3226-3242
Crawley, H. and Hagen-Zanker, J. (2018) Deciding where to go: policies, people and perceptions shaping destination preferences, International Migration 15(1), 20-35
Crawley, H. and Skleparis, D. (2017) ‘Refugee, migrant, neither, both: categorical fetishism and the politics of bounding in Europe’s ‘migration crisis’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44(1), 48-64
Crawley, H. (2010) Chance or Choice? Understanding Why Asylum Seekers Come to the UK, London: Refugee Council
Castles, S., Crawley, H. and Loughna, S (2003) States of Conflict: Causes and Patterns of Forced Migration to the EU and Policy Responses, London: IPPR
Heaven Crawley 