Peace and Migration – GovUnet2026

About

Migration and peace are closely linked: conflicts are major drivers of forced population movements, while migrants and diasporas play a crucial role in the reconstruction and development of their countries of origin. The transfer of capital and knowledge strengthens resilience, but managing migration requires the protection of human rights from criminalization and restrictive policies.
Our approach will be based on two axes. The first axis will concern violence and migration, exploring the relationship between conflict and movement, the role of structural violence in global migration patterns, conflicts along migration routes, and conflicts experienced by migrants in host countries. The second axis will examine the links between peacebuilding and migration. Specifically, we will show how improving cohesion at the European level, but also at the level of the organized international community, can prevent population movements, improve integration, and develop sustainable exit strategies, as well as the importance of integrating migrants into peace processes.

Our goal is to study the new geopolitics of peacekeeping operations under the auspices of regional international organizations (European Union, Council of Europe) or global organizations (United Nations) that aims to better understand how peacekeeping operations address non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism, illegal immigration, piracy, organized crime, and environmental degradation. Its goal is to identify the different perceptions, positions, and interests of the parties involved. By mobilising key actors and defining the scope for action available to peacekeeping operations in addressing non-traditional security problems, it also seeks to encourage open dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding.

Course leader

Panos Grigoriou