The International Organization for Migration

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

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2. Introduction: The International Organization for Migration as the New ‘UN Migration Agency’

   • Antoine Pécoud

   Pages 1-27

3. Unfinished Business: The IOM and Migrants’ Human Rights

   • Elspeth Guild, Stefanie Grant, Kees Groenendijk

   Pages 29-51

4. Gendering Migration Management

   • Rianne Mahon

   Pages 53-73

5. Drivers of Expenditure Allocation in the IOM: Refugees, Donors, and International Bureaucracy

   • Ronny Patz, Svanhildur Thorvaldsdottir

   Pages 75-98

6. Between Migration and Development: The IOM’s Development Fund

   • Erin Newman-Grigg

   Pages 99-122

7. Measuring ‘Well-Governed’ Migration: The IOM’s Migration Governance Indicators

   • Corey Robinson

   Pages 123-143

8. The IOM in Building and Supporting Migration Management in China

   • Yadi Zhang, Martin Geiger

   Pages 145-171

9. Knowledge Production at the IOM: Looking for Local Knowledge in Tajikistan

   • Karolina Kluczewska

   Pages 173-193

10. The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project: The Global Authority on Border Deaths

    • Yussef Al Tamimi, Paolo Cuttitta, Tamara Last

    Pages 195-216

11. The IOM’s Humanitarian Border Management in the West African Ebola Crisis (2014–2016)

    • Tilmann Scherf

    Pages 217-244

12. Humanitarian Detention and Deportation: The IOM and Anti-Trafficking in Laos

    • Estelle Miramond

    Pages 245-269

13. The IOM’s Crisis Management and the Expulsion of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia

    • Clara Lecadet

    Pages 271-292

14. Possible Futures? The New ‘UN Migration Agency’ and the Shifting Global Order

    • Martin Geiger

    Pages 293-306

15. Back Matter

    Pages 307-316

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In 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) became part of the United Nations. With 173 member states and more than 400 field offices, the IOM—the new ‘UN migration agency’—plays a key role in migration governance. The contributors in this volume provide an in-depth and comprehensive insight into the IOM, its transformation, current structure and projects, as well as its capacity, self-understanding and political agenda.

• International Organization for Migration
• IOM
• United Nations
• migration crisis
• refugee crisis
• global governance of migration
• international organizations
• intergovernmental

“Understanding the present and future of global migration governance requires a thorough engagement with the IOM. … Geiger and Pécoud’s volume is an important contribution towards redressing that gap. It offers readers a critical and thought-provoking analysis of the neo-liberal, technocratic and depoliticizing logics that underlie the IOM’s discourse and practice. … this volume is an important resource for scholars interested in the current transformations of migration management and their potential implications at global, regional and local levels.” (João Terrenas, International Affairs, Vol. 97 (3), 2021)

“Has the IOM become the UN migration agency, and if so, is it beneficial or not for the migrants? This collective book recasts with brio the IOM’s transformation in a truly interdisciplinary way, crossing the views of political scientists, lawyers, sociologists of migration. The result is impressive and thought provoking. We are effectively at a turning point for global migration and freedom of movement in the world.” (Didier Bigo, Professor of Sociology, Sciences Po Paris, France)

“Who has the expert authority to speak about international migration? This volume documents the ambitious rise of the IOM as it claims the mantle of ‘UN Migration Agency’. Rich case studies show the interplay between the agency’s own soft power and its tendency to serve the will of powerful patrons. For an inside view of a process that continues to unfold, look no further than this volume.” (David Scott FitzGerald, Gildred Chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations and Co-Director, Center for Comparative ImmigrationStudies, University of California San Diego, USA)

“A much needed and timely book that sheds light on the different, obvious and hidden ways in which a transnational governance of migration regime is evolving. This book investigates critically the new role of IOM as the UN migration agency in managing flows and borders in often non-visible ways. It is a must-read for both academics and practitioners working in the field international migration.” (Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, Ryerson University, Canada)

“The most up-to-date and encompassing research on IOM. A must-read for those who are interested in migration and mobility studies, and the increasing role of IOM in migration politics.” (Zhenjiang Zhang, Professor and Dean, School of International Studies/Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies, Jinan University, China)

• Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

  Martin Geiger

• University of Sorbonne Paris Nord, Paris, France

  Antoine Pécoud

Martin Geiger is Associate Professor of Politics of Human Migration and Mobility at Carleton University, Canada, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing, and Corresponding Member of the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies in Osnabrueck, Germany.



Antoine Pécoud is Professor of Sociology at the University of Paris 13, a Research Associate at CERI/Sciences Po, and a Fellow of the Institut des Migrations, France. 

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