A MOOC on International Migrations

Update 8 April 2020: Ideas aren’t in confinement! While the Covid-19 crisis is upturning our vision of the world and asking us to question notions of cooperation, mobility, and borders, the MOOC “International migrations: a global issue” is once again accessible on Coursera. It is a chance to take stock of the history of, and various perspectives on, the phenomenon of international migration. #KeepLearning

This online course was created by political and social scientist Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, Director of Research at CERI, the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies. The seven sessions, which have already been followed by over 9,000 students on the English version alone, provides academic knowledge on migrations, addresses the main challenges raised by international migration, and assesses the trends of tomorrow. Interview in January 2017 with Catherine Wihtol de Wenden on the process of globalisation and the regionalisation of migration, both of which are affecting nations as well as the planet.

In what way is the influx of migrants and refugees that Europe is currently facing exceptional?

Migratory flows in Europe have been exceptional in terms of the numbers of asylum seekers received. In 2015, 1.2 million refugees arrived in Europe compared with 650,000 in 2014, contrasting with more typical figures of around 200,000 per year. But there have been other peaks in refugee statistics: after the fall of the Iron Curtain Germany received 500,000 asylum seekers per year from 1990 to 1993, and refugee numbers also rose during the breakup of former Yugoslavia. Although the current crisis appears to be exceptional, we do need to compare it with other migrant crises. Another factor contributing to the exceptional nature of the current situation is the lack of solidarity of EU-member countries, with the refusal of Eastern European countries to accept the resettlement quotas proposed by the European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker.

In an interview published in Libération in December 2015, you state, "We have not yet realised the extent to which these new migrants are like ourselves". What did you mean by that?

When the photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying lifeless on a Turkish beach was published in newspapers around the world, it was apparent just how much this little boy resembled any other child in Europe. These new arrivals look like us: the families arriving from Syria are mostly middle class, and in Europe they are seeking to obtain refugee status to escape war and lead stable lives in safe conditions, much as any of us would in similar circumstances. The young people arriving from Sub-Saharan Africa are also increasingly urban and educated, looking for jobs and peaceful lives that they can't have in their own countries. This crisis is also the symbol of one world meeting another, putting the present migration crisis into a global perspective.

How, in your opinion, will this migration crisis unfold in the coming months and years?

The future will see more mobility for new types of migrants: the poorest have not left their own countries because they lack transnational networks and don't have the resources to leave. But in the event of an environmental crisis they will migrate to neighbouring countries, from South to South. Other political crises could also bring new arrivals from Africa (Algeria included), as a result of demographic gaps, unemployment, and persistent risks (social, political, environmental, etc.). Former emigration countries such as Morocco, Mexico and Turkey are becoming immigration destinations and this will continue. The traditional immigration countries will experience increasing multiculturalism in main cities.

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