Migration, civil society and global governance: An introduction to the special issue

The current special issue examines the development of an emerging globalgovernance on migration and the spaces, roles, strategies and alliancemakingof a composite transnational civil society engaged in issues of rightsand the protection of migrants and their families. This question is connectedwith how different actors – the United Nations, international organizations,governments and a wide variety of civil society organizations and regionaland global trade unions – perceive the root causes of migration, globalinequality and options for sustainable development. The contributionsincluded in the special issue interrogate from different perspectives thepositionality and capacity of civil society to influence the Global Forum forMigration and Development. They examine the opportunities and challengesfaced by civil society in its endeavor to promote a rights-based approachwithin international and intergovernmental fora engaged in setting up aglobal compact for the management of migration and in other global policyspaces.