Join this interdisciplinary event where academics and practitioners will explore the complex system governing the movement of people across borders. Deadline for paper abstracts: 03 February 2026.
We invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners from diverse disciplines to participate in the conference ‘Architectures of Global Mobility’, jointly organised by the EUI’s Migration Policy Centre (MPC) and Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT).
The architecture of global human mobility comprises the interconnection of institutions, international treaties, regional and national laws and policies, and infrastructure that, together, form the complex system governing the movement of people across borders. The conference will bring insights from a variety of disciplinary, methodological, and empirical perspectives to prompt reflection on key issues related to these architectures in the study of international migration and citizenship.
This conference aims to discuss the frameworks that govern the international movement of people, both contemporary and historical. Papers covering the enablers and constraints on international human mobility are welcome, including citizenship laws, bilateral agreements, free movement regimes, visa policies and travel restrictions, border controls, technologies used to regulate migration, and welfare provision in both home and host states. We welcome case studies that unpack single aspects of the architecture of global mobilities, as well as global or cross-country analyses that provide broader perspectives. Examples of sub-themes are:
1. Mobility dynamics, policies, and infrastructures: We welcome any study examining the effects of policy and infrastructure on the dynamics of global mobility. We specifically invite submissions that investigate how states enable or constrain human movement (e.g., through laws, citizenship regimes, passport processes, visa policies, border controls, temporary work programs or investor citizenship regimes) or that analyse substitutions between forms of mobilities in response to such efforts (e.g., frequent short stays vs longer-term settlement or technology and digital spaces as an alternative to business travel).
2. The role of knowledge in shaping architectures of global mobility: We invite contributions that engage with questions such as how citizenship and migration research and knowledge production interact with policy and practice in shaping global migration and citizenship governance.
3. Conceiving (im)mobilities: How do ideas shape the governance of global human mobility?: Ideas – understood as beliefs held by individuals – play an important role in shaping people’s understandings of the world, and in influencing public policies and governance of mobility, migration, and citizenship. We invite papers that analyse which and how ideas shape architectures of global mobility.
4. Citizenship inequalities and global labor mobility: How do citizenship and rights inequalities shape global labor mobility? What is the relationship between transnational governance, international labor mobility, and national welfare states? We invite paper proposals that examine the political and socio-economic effects of past policy approaches and their implications for current and future political and policy challenges.
This MPC – GLOBALCIT conference is dedicated to the exploration of these interrelated questions. We strongly encourage papers that propose theoretical, methodological, or conceptual innovations.
Timeline
Deadline for paper abstracts (~300 words): 3 February 2026
Communication of accepted papers: 17 February 2026
Deadline for submission of papers: 6 May 2026
Fees and funding
There is no conference registration fee. Participants will be expected to fund their own travel and stay in Florence. A small number of bursaries are available to support attendance for early career scholars from low-income countries. Please indicate in your registration form if you would require support to attend the conference and provide a short justification.
At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please indicate in the application form your accessibility needs, if any. Alternatively, you can contact the logistics organiser of the event.