Recentring the South in Studies of Migration

Abstract

It has become increasingly mainstream to argue that redressing the Eurocentrism of migration studies requires a commitment to decentring Global North knowledge. However, it is less clear whether this necessarily means “recentering the South.” Against this backdrop, this chapter starts by highlighting diverse ways that scholars have sought to redress Eurocentrism in migration studies: (1) examining the applicability of classical concepts and frameworks in the South; (2) filling blind spots by studying migration in the South and South–South migration; and (3) engaging critically with the geopolitics of knowledge production. The remainder of the chapter examines questions on decentring and recentring, different ways of conceptualising the South, and—as a pressing concern with regard to knowledge production—the politics of citation. In so doing, the chapter critically delineates the contours of these debates and sets out a number of key priorities for researchers moving forward.