TRANSMIT 3.0 – Transnational Perspectives on Migration and Integration

Project Team:

Project Lead: Prof. Dr. Herbert Brücker (IAB/BIM); Prof. Dr. Ulrike Kluge (Charité/BIM); Prof. Dr. Naika Foroutan (BIM/DeZIM-I); Prof. Dr. Ruud Koopmans (WZB); Dr. Ramona Rischke (DeZIM-I); Prof. Dr. Helen Schwenken (IMIS)

Project Staff: Judith Altrogge (IMIS); Tamara Bogatzki (WZB); Dr. Irene Pañeda Fernández (WZB); Lidwina Gundacker (IAB); Laura Hertner (BIM); Philipp Jung (IMIS); Dr. Daniel Meierrieks (WZB, Project Coordination); Dr. Julia Stier (WZB); Dr. Nader Talebi (BIM); Dr. Irem Tuncer-Ebetürk (BIM, Project Coordination)

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For several years, the TRANSMIT team has established a comprehensive data infrastructure that enables such transnational research. In previous project phases (TRANSMIT), regionally representative surveys were conducted in Senegal (Dakar, Casamance), Gambia, and Nigeria (Edo, Kaduna), supplemented by a survey of West Africans living in Germany. Additionally, Syrian refugees and the majority population in Lebanon and Turkey were surveyed in representative longitudinal studies (TRANSMIT dataset for scientific use,). Qualitative data was collected in Senegal, Gambia, Morocco, Italy, Iran, and Turkey, as well as online. For publications based on the data see here.

In the new project phase, the survey in Turkey will be expanded and supplemented by a new quantitative survey in Morocco. Located at Europe's external borders, Turkey and Morocco take a major role in European migration policy. In Turkey, Iran, Gambia, Senegal, Germany and Morocco, qualitative data collections are planned. The TRANSMIT team is thus continuing its multi-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative elements.

Based on this rich database we investigate how international migration regimes and political-institutional contexts in countries of origin, host countries and transit countries affect individual migration processes and integration experiences of migrants. Our research focuses on five main topics: Determinants of migration aspirations, gender aspects, the role of work and labor markets, health aspects and the effects of climate change. The expected knowledge gain is therefore highly relevant not only for related scholarly fields but also for the public and political discourse in times of changing migration regimes.

Involved coordination partners: 

Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research (BIM); DeZIM-Institute, Department Migration (DeZIM-I); Institute for Employment Research (IAB); Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS); Berlin Social Science Center (Project Coordination)

The project addresses research gaps on various issues in migration studies, including (i) the origins of migration aspirations (e.g., with regard to the influence of discrimination and migration policies in countries of origin and destination), the role of (ii) gender (e.g., the role of gender norms and gender-specific inequality), (iii) work, as well as the  as well as (iv) the interplay between health and migration (e.g., health care for migrants) and (v) the impact of climate change on migration decisions in both West African and MENA contexts.

The project pursues several main objectives. First, the aforementioned research gaps are to be addressed through data-driven and theory-based research. Second, the data collected during the project and the data infrastructure developed as a result are to be made available to the scientific community. Third, TRANSMIT addresses highly relevant current political issues and debates. Another key objective of the project is to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of the findings obtained during the project through appropriate formats.

TRANSMIT collects both qualitative and quantitative data. In the upcoming project phase, quantitative surveys are planned in Morocco and Turkey, and qualitative surveys are planned in Iran (online), Senegal, The Gambia, Morocco, Turkey, and Germany. The collected data will be analyzed using various qualitative and quantitative research methods. For selected research topics, qualitative and quantitative data will also be combined and analyzed in a mixed-methods research design.