By Khaled Ibrahim, MiReKoc Summer School ‘24 Alumni The ongoing civil war in Sudan has thus far led over 1.2 million* (official UNHCR number as of September 30th, was 500,000 at the time of writing of the paper) people to seek refuge in bordering Egypt. To the average North Sudanese, this is a logical decision,...Read More

By Gülşen Doğan, PhD Researcher, Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc) Cities benefit from migration, as individuals relocating bring various perspectives, expertise, and cultural diversity, greatly enhancing urban life’s social, economic, and political structure. However, many migrants often encounter marginalization and exclusion, preventing them from fully engaging in urban activities. This marginalization not only...Read More

By Pelin Kılınçarslan, Postdoctoral Researcher, Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc) Thanks to Oğuzhan Açıkgöz for providing technical support “If there is so much evidence that cities are built by migrants and that we can say that most of the city’s population are migrant populations, and if we consider this from a generational point...Read More

By Oğuzhan Açıkgöz, Law Student at Koc Law School, Koç University, Istanbul Dr. Janina Stürner-Siovitz introduced the Equal Partnerships Policy Paper during the 14th Global Forum on Migration and Development. The policy paper focuses on the growing challenges and opportunities related to migration and displacement faced by local governments in African intermediary cities. These cities are...Read More

By Gizem Karaköse*, PhD Candidate in Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland and MiReKoc Visiting Fellow, Fall 2023 Governance Challenges and Urban Planning in Polonezköy in the Context of Minority Settlements Polonezköy, one of the most intriguing minority settlements located in Istanbul, Turkey, stands out as a distinctive history and cultural perspective. The village was established...Read More

By Ricard Zapata-Barrero, Full Professor, GRITIM-UPF, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) In migration studies, it is often assumed, and therefore not discussed, that “migration” is a category of analysis in itself, with social, political, cultural, and ideological meanings that need to be taken into account. The social dimension...Read More

By Gülşen Doğan, BROAD-ER PhD Researcher, Political Science and International Relations, Koç University, Istanbul In this post-Westphalian system, cities are increasingly challenging the global authority of nation-states and assuming the pivotal role in decision-making and implementation of policies pertaining to global and national issues at the supra-national level. However, authoritarian populist governments are increasingly striving...Read More

By Gülşen Doğan, BROAD-ER PhD Researcher, Political Science and International Relations, Koç University, Istanbul While authoritarian populism and migration crisis dominate the global political debate, an additional challenge, the climate crisis, emerges for the future of democracy. In the current Ukrainian energy crisis, the gap between energy demand and supply will be one of those...Read More

By Oğuzhan Açıkgöz, Law Student at Koc Law School, Koç University, Istanbul Ensuring the safe and sustainable reintegration of returnees in their home areas is crucial; otherwise, they might face the risk of becoming internally displaced or refugees once again. The obstacles to achieving successful returns are incredibly challenging. Firstly, refugees often go back to...Read More

By Ceren Kulkul, Post-doc Researcher at Migration Research Center at Koç University MiReKoc In the previous blog post, we focused on the actors of the internal migration caused by the earthquake disaster and the picture that emerged in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. We touched upon the efforts of many displaced individuals to survive...Read More