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Dear colleagues,

In view of the IMISCOE Annual Conference to be held in Paris-Aubervilliers = (France), 1-4 July 2025, I am collecting contributions for a panel on im/mo= bilities in the professional field of international aid in the global South= s (panel description below).

If you are interested to participate in this panel, please submit a 250-wor= ds abstract, as well as a title, author(s) name(s), institutional affiliati= on(s) and email address(es) to anissa.maa@ulb.be.= Deadline for submissions is 19/09/2024. Please note that the panel will be= organised in person.

Please feel free to circulate amongst your networks.

Kind regards, Anissa Ma=E2

22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference 1st=964th July 2025, Paris=96Aubervilliers and online =93Decentering migration studies=94

Panel title: Undesirable migrants versus privileged expats=92? Exploring th= e coproduction of im/mobilities in the professional field of international = aid in the global Souths.

Abstract: Broadly speaking, migration studies can be divided according to w= hether they focus on so-called =93migrations=94 or =93mobilities=94. This d= istinction sheds light on a two-tier governance that restricts the movement= of some, while encouraging that of others. However, it tends to reify the = opposition between two archetypal figures =96 that of the =93undesirable mi= grant=94 and the =93privileged expat=92=94 =96 both of which have proven in= sufficient to grasp the variety of mobilities on a global scale, as well as= their entanglements at a local level.

This panel aims at going beyond this binary divide, by exploring the comple= x dynamics underlying the hierarchisation and coproduction of different for= ms of spatial im/mobilities. To do so, it empirically focuses on the profes= sional field of international aid in the global Souths, in sectors such as = development, humanitarianism, migration management etc=85 So-called =93Aidl= and=94 is a relevant site of inquiry insofar as it employs people with uneq= ual access to mobility, namely: Western expatriates, foreign employees from= the Souths, national staff, and contractual workers. While it rests upon a= division of labour that reproduces global inequalities of citizenship, cla= ss, race, gender, and sexuality, this professional field is also a space wh= ere power asymmetries are negotiated.

In this perspective, this panel raises questions such as: to what extent is= this professional field productive of differentiated forms of mobility? Ho= w are power relationships related to im/mobility addressed in the field? Ho= w are aid workers negotiating their access to global and local mobility?

To answer these interrogations, the panel adopts an intersectional perspect= ive attentive to the multiple articulations between im/mobility and citizen= ship, class, race, gender, and sexuality. It welcomes contributions address= ing the global and local im/mobilities of international aid workers, throug= h the possible (but not limited) lens of: professional categories and work = statuses (expatriation, brokerage=85), narratives of identification and dis= tinction, daily practices and experiences. Special attention will be paid t= o contributions dealing with: =93in-between=94 positions of racialised West= ern expatriates and expatriates from the Souths, security and differential = exposure to risk, relationships of power, mutual dependency and intimacy am= ong workers. Priority will be given to qualitative research and authors dem= onstrating reflexivity regarding their position in the field.

Convener: Anissa Ma=E2, postdoctoral researcher F.R.S.-FNRS, Universit=E9 l= ibre de Bruxelles (Belgium)

Dr. Anissa Ma=E2 Postdoctoral researcher F.R.S.-FNRS - Universit=E9 libre de Bruxelles FWA Affiliated Research Fellow - University of Oxford