The report of the study “Social Immobility versus - Social Mobility the Root Causes of International Emigration” was written by Nelly Robin (French National Research Institute for Development/IRD) within the framework of the Rabat Process. The study was initially carried out at the request of France, in order to inform discussions at the Rabat Process Thematic Meeting on Root Causes (held in Paris, in October 2018) and aims to inform scientific and political debates on recent international migration.
Favouring a qualitative approach, this study proposes to examine the causes of emigration in the Rabat Process region from the perspective of the main actors of migration – aspiring migrants, migrants and their families. The aim is not only to go beyond the approach which explains migration as the result of purely external determinants but also to move away from the idea that the causes of “irregular” and “regular” migration are distinct.
In order to deepen the meaning which individuals give to their choice to migrate or stay, the study is based on data collected during biographical interviews and focus groups, thus linking the individual and collective levels. The testimonies on which the study is based were collected in Senegal and Italy.
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