MCI Expertise in the International Discourse on Migration

Academic seminar on postcolonial dynamics of African migration

Our Head of Department, Belachew Gebrewold, recently held an academic seminar on “Postcolonial African Migration to the West as a Desire for Recognition” at the Migration Policy Center of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.

The seminar focused on his book of the same name (Postcolonial African Migration to the West: A Mimetic Desire for Being, Palgrave Macmillan, 2024), in which he presents a broader perspective on African migration.

The starting point for his analysis is the thesis that migration cannot be explained solely by economic hardship, conflict, or environmental change, but must also be understood as an expression of a mimetic desire for recognition and identity. This desire, he argues, results from the historical impact of colonialism and the continuing dominance of Western lifestyles and values.

Belachew Gebrewold argued that people also understand migration as a desire to be close to the Western model of “being” – a pursuit that is reinforced by the physical and symbolic barriers of the West on the one hand, and brought about by them on the other. Even in the absence of classic push factors, this mimetic need remains a strong driver of migration.

The event provided a space for interdisciplinary exchange on the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of migration and impressively demonstrated how deeply rooted social dynamics shape migration – both in research and in political debate.