Multilayered Governance: Gains for International Migration?

University of Bern (Switzerland)
Wednesday, 27 April and Thursday, 28 April 2016

This interdisciplinary conference on the theme of how multilayered governance matters for migration law and policy, regroups scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of governance and migration research and is a platform for discussing preliminary results coming out of the nccr – on the move research project  “From ‘Traditional’ to ‘New’ Migration: Challenges to the International Legal Migration Regime”. We hope to gain insights on why multilayered governance – in light of its hybrid nature and flexible mechanisms – may be tailor-made for addressing the ambiguities and disintegration, but also the linkages in international migration law and policy.

Structure of the Conference
The papers presented evaluate, on the basis of different disciplinary backgrounds, to what extent MLG could be a governance model for managing migration internationally. Like most governance theories, MLG amounts to a legal and political projection premised on enhancing efficiency and legitimacy. But its high flexibility and hybrid nature, combining vertical “layering” with horizontal “linkages” including systemic interpretation and specialization, distinguish MLG as particularly apt for promoting an interdisciplinary focus including international relations, law, economics and sociology. The papers are structured into sections reflecting a combination of territorial and functional differentiation as well as a flexible range of normative intensity for governance – starting out with local practice and legal projects, moving on to regional laboratories over to global institutions.