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Funded by: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens,
Women and Youth

Duration: 2025 to 2027

Project leadership: Prof. Dr. Helen Schwenken; Prof. Dr. Andreas Pott

Project staff: Judith Altrogge, Philipp Roman Jung

Since 2020, the TRANSMIT project has targeted a better understanding of the dynamics of migration as a complex social phenomenon situated in its regional and geopolitical contexts. The rapidly growing political relevance of migration and integration issues and the increasing skepticism towards immigration require data-based and theory-driven research that goes beyond German and European borders in order to appropriately inform public and political discourse. The next project phase, TRANSMIT 3.0, therefore puts a major focus on the migration process towards Europe and the contextual factors that influence this process along the entire migration route. Specifically, the project sheds light on the motivations and experiences of migrants as well as the political and institutional conditions that shape migration decisions, migration processes, migration experiences and integration processes. To this end, we focus on migration dynamics from West Africa and the Middle East, thus covering two migration contexts that are particularly relevant for Europe and Germany.

Over the past five years, the team has established a comprehensive data infrastructure that enables such transnational research. In previous project phases (TRANSMIT, Link), 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, link). Qualitative data was collected in Senegal, Gambia, Morocco, Italy, Iran, and Turkey, as well as online.

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.

Consortium partners from the DeZIM research community involved in TRANSMIT

Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration Research (BIM)
German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM Institute)
Institute for Employment Research (IAB)
Institute for Migration Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIS)
Berlin Social Science Center (WZB)