IRIS

Unwelcome to Denmark: Asylum on Probation with Michelle Pace

New episode of Conversations with IRiS 🎙️
In this #podcast, we speak with prof Michelle Pace, author of Unwelcome to #Denmark (Manchester University Press, 2025).

#asylum

open.spotify.com/episode/6FvW...

A different path: the regularisation of migrants in Spain The Spanish model in today's anti-migration Europe

New piece by @nandosigona.bsky.social:
A different path – the #regularisation of migrants in #Spain.
At a time of rising xenophobia across Europe, Spain is charting a different course. What does it reveal about the failures of the wider European approach? www.meltingpot.org/en/2026/02/a...

British dual citizens are not a homogeneous group, and their different constituent parts are affected differently by the new UK passport rules — changes whose wider consequences the government does not appear to have fully appreciated, @nandosigona.bsky.social writes for @theconversation.com

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement in an Age of Growing Authoritarianism
7-9 September 2026, @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Deadline for proposals: 16 March 2026
superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...

This is leadership, especially in these dire times when migrants are used as an easy punchbag from all sides of the political spectrum.

IRIS 2026 Conference | Unsettling Communities 7-9 September, University of Birmingham CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS Deadline: 16 March 2026 All submissions via the online submission page. We  are living in times  where profou…

Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement in an Age of Growing Authoritarianism
7-9 September 2026, @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Deadline for proposals: 16 March 2026
superdiversity.net/iris-2026-co...

📣 Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities We’re delighted to announce the launch of the Call for Papers, Panels, and Workshops for the IRIS 2026 international conference, titled Unsettling Communities: Diversity, Mobility and Displacement …

📣 Call for Papers, Panels and Workshops | IRIS 2026 Conference: Unsettling Communities superdiversity.net/2026/01/23/%...

Home Affairs Committee - Written evidence - Committees - UK Parliament Written evidence submission publications for Home Affairs Committee.

There is a huge volume of submissions, reflecting how important, controversial and IMO vindictive and damaging these proposals are. Linked below

Good ones from @ippr.org, @ilonapin.bsky.social, @nandosigona.bsky.social & many others [2/3]

committees.parliament.uk/committee/83...

Measuring Misery: The Science & Politics of Forced Displacement Statistics Public talk by Prof David Scott FitzGerald, University of California San Diego jointly hosted by IRIS and POLSIS, University of Birmingham, 2 February, 4-5.30 PM Follow this link to reserve a place…

Measuring Misery: The Science & Politics of Forced Displacement Statistics
#IRIStalk by @fitzgeralducsd.bsky.social, 2 February, 4-5.30pm @unibirmingham.bsky.social @irisbirmingham.bsky.social
superdiversity.net/2026/01/14/m...

The @unibirmingham.bsky.social #socialpolicy is hosting #ISARC19 2026 conference next September (2-4 Sept, University of Birmingham), the call for papers is available here: uobevents.eventsair.com/rc19/call-fo...

Need some help to understand what's going on in Trump's America? Listen to the #MAGA & #migration #podcast series hosted by @michaelacbenson.bsky.social & @nandosigona.bsky.social

A (research) year-in-review thread from IRIS @unibirmingham.bsky.social
We asked our researchers to pick one of their publications from 2025 and share why it stands out for them.
Here's what they replied!
#migration
#refugees
#socialsciences
#diversity
#research

Transnational Political Trajectories of Migrants AbstractThis chapter explores the multifaceted drivers that influence migrants’ transnational political trajectories. By using intersectionality as an anal

Finally, our #MSCA Global Fellow @gulceozdemir.bsky.social's chapter on the 'Transnational Political Trajectories of Migrants' in Yurdakul, G. et al (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Intersectional Approaches to #Migration, #Gender, and #Sexuality doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...

Brexit and the Emergence of a Transnational European Community of Practice: From Grassroots Mobilisations to Supranational Political Opportunity Structures in the Struggle for Citizens' Rights Brexit ignited an unprecedented sense of shared European identity and belonging, catalysing pro-EU social movements among EU nationals in the United Kingdom and amongst British citizens residing in t....

Co-authored by @michaelacbenson.bsky.social @catherineruth.bsky.social and @nandosigona.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... this @jcms-eu.bsky.social article examines how #Brexit ignited an unprecedented sense of shared #European identity and belonging in the UK and EU

Encounters with kindness: everyday and extraordinary kind interventions in the lives of forced migrant survivors of SGBV While much attention is given to understanding the nature of the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) encountered by forced migrants, far less focus is placed on the actions and experiences that...

This co-authored @scmrjems.bsky.social paper (incl. @profjennyp.bsky.social, Lisa Goodson, @sandrapertek.bsky.social) repositions kindness as a critical analytical lens for understanding recovery, agency and informal protection in forced migration contexts.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This one is from @sandrapertek.bsky.social, it critically analyses the role of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIc) in assisting women in conflict and displacement, focusing on its political commitments and institutional capacities.
www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/index.php/pr...

This article, @oliviapetie.bsky.social says, draws on two case studies to explore how concepts of #hospitality, home, and unhome can be useful in understanding the use of hotel accommodation for #asylumseekers in the UK & the experiences of those living there doi.org/10.1386/hosp...

What’s so funny about the European ‘migration crisis’? The use of humour among unaccompanied young migrants and refugees to assert agency and subvert authority in the face of a hostile reception regim... This paper explores the use of humour among unaccompanied young migrants and refugees to assert agency and subvert authority in the face of a hostile reception regime. It explores how comedy manife...

My article, Jenny Allsopp explains, has been a long time in the making and it was a fun one to write. It celebrates the resilience of young asylum seekers and refugees.
doi.org/10.1080/1367...

"Need a guide to decode the script behind UK anti-immigration rhetoric? This is your roadmap", @stefano-piemontese.bsky.social argues. It unpacks how #irregularmigration was constructed during one of the most turbulent periods in British politics (2019–2023). zenodo.org/records/1511...

I enjoyed writing this chapter, @amartinsjr.bsky.social says. It demonstrates how ideas and moral justifications of deservingness are actively formed and renegotiated in migrants’ everyday lives.
migration.bristol.ac.uk/rethinking-m...

Bordering and Mobilities in Ukraine: Inconvenient People in the Time of War This book analyses how war and bordering impact daily life and mobility and immobility tactics. It brings to light the memories of people who were displaced from Ukraine’s eastern regions because of R...

"In this book, we explore everyday experiences of war, bordering, and (im)mobilities, including actions of resistance in occupied territories, the loss of home and struggles to find housing, volunteering, and the traumatic responses", Irina Kuznetsova explains. www.routledge.com/Bordering-an...

"This (co-authored with @ilsevanliempt.bsky.social) is from the Horizon Europe @iclaimeu.bsky.social project on the irregularisation of #migration which has taken so much of my time in the last three years", @nandosigona.bsky.social explains. zenodo.org/records/1748...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

This co-authored paper (@profjennyp.bsky.social, @annapapoutsi.bsky.social, Lisa Goodson) examines the continuum of violence into refuge, showing how asylum systems generate conditions for #SGBV survivors which expose them to further interpersonal violence.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Social Mobility, Competition, Citizenship, and Brokerage on Different Margins of Vietnamese Society An exploratory comparison of two marginalized groups of Vietnamese citizens – Hmong Protestants in Vietnam’s northern highlands and transnational labor migrants to Europe – reveals four themes of c...

What's it like to live on the margins of contemporary Vietnamese society? @seb-rumsby.bsky.social asks. This paper compares two different groups amongst which I have conducted long-term fieldwork to explore shared experiences and common themes.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Community Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways: Global Movements for Resettling Refugees Driven by Local Actors - Journal of International Migration and Integration The ongoing global displacement emergency characterised by increasing numbers of forced migrants needing refuge has prompted the exploration of alternative solutions to traditional refugee resettlemen...

Let's start with the introduction to a Special Issue on #RefugeeSponsorship & Complementary Pathways edited by our refugee sponsorship research team. It’s the first of its kind focusing on these forms of resettlement outside of Canada.
doi.org/10.1007/s121...

A (research) year-in-review thread from IRIS @unibirmingham.bsky.social
We asked our researchers to pick one of their publications from 2025 and share why it stands out for them.
Here's what they replied!
#migration
#refugees
#socialsciences
#diversity
#research

S4 E4 Free speech for whom? Who Do We Think We Are?

What's the link between #freespeech, #bordering, and Trump's #MAGA project?

@michaelacbenson.bsky.social & I address this question in the latest episode of #whodowethinkweare #podcast with a special guest: Dr @hebagowayed.bsky.social

Listen, share, follow: whodowethinkweare.org/podcasts/who...

We want global talents (but only if they are rich) Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham Last week’s intervention by a leading UK scientist over the prohibitive cost of visas raised an uncomfortable truth: Britain’s migration system is not — or is…

We want global talents (but only if they are rich).
nandosigona.info/2025/12/08/w...

Strong opinions and wrong facts - new report reveals public understanding and attitudes to #irregularmigration in the UK #mustread