GAPs researchers have compiled a new research dossier that delves into the complex realities of return migration, as the debate on Syrian refugee return has reached a critical juncture, with the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

These analyses draw on policy research, refugee narratives, and geopolitical shifts, providing essential insights into the evolving return landscape.

Introduction to the dossier

📖 Read the full dossier & explore expert perspectives:
Forced Displacement as Refugee Return Amidst Regional War: The Plight of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon by Maissam Nimer

The struggle for a dignified return of refugees to Syria, The Loop. ECPR. (2025). By Maissam Nimer and Susan Beth Rottmann

Syria’s Uncertain Path: Challenges of Return, Stability and Trust, by Osman Bahadır  Dinçer, Zeynep  Şahin-Mencütek

Displaced again: forced mobility from Lebanon to Syria. The Loop. ECPR. (2024). By Maissam Nimer and Nora Stel

Preliminary Reflections on Post-Assad Syria: Emerging Dynamics and the Complex Reality of Refugee Returns from Türkiye, by Umutcan Yüksel, N. Ela Gökalp-Aras 

Syrian Refugee Return: What Policy Must Do, by Osman Bahadır  Dinçer, Ruth  Vollmer, Zeynep  Şahin-Mencütek and Selina  Engelberth

The GAPs Project is happy to launch its web-based Data Repository on Return Migration —a groundbreaking open-access platform providing comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data on national return regimes across 14 countries. Designed for researchers, policymakers, and migration experts, it offers interactive tools, country profiles, legislative insights, and return statistics to support evidence-based migration governance.

GAPs launched a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) exploring the complexities of return migration. Drawing on insights from the EU-funded GAPs project, this three-week course critically examines how states implement coercion in return policies and its impact on migrants' human rights.

📚 Featuring case studies, personal narratives, and expert insights, the MOOC challenges the traditional voluntary vs. forced return distinction, making it a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and migration practitioners.

Dissemination: Media, Publications and Conferences

• Stakeholder Expert Panel: Critical Perspectives and Insights on Greece's Return Migration Infrastructures by EKKE

• Stakeholder Expert Panel: Second Meeting of the Stakeholder Expert Panel (SEP) in Poland by UWarsaw

• Publication: Migration diplomacy and Greek–Turkish relations: A three-level game analysis by G. Gerasimos Tsourapas in International Migration

• Publication: Refugee return, reintegration, and citizenship practices in post-conflict Syria by O.B. Dinçer & Zeynep Sahin Mencutek in International Migration

• Workshop: Return Diplomacy and Migration Governance in Virtual Workshop (Online, January 21, 2025)

• Conference: Press Conference in Nigeria Highlights Concerns Over Treatment of Returnees from Europe (January 22, 2025)

• Seminar: How do emotions shape return migration? The GLOCAL Hotspot Seminar (February 19, 2025)

• Country Dossier Iraq / WP4: Return migration governance in the African and Middle Eastern regions and the role of the EU by Mohammed Kazem Al-Maeeni, William Khamo Warda, Pascale Warda, Khalid Abdul Ghaffar Al Bayati,  Hammurabi Human Rights Organization (HHRO)

• Country Dossier Greece/ WP7: Return Aspirations and Trajectories of Migrants by Eva Papatzani, Timokleia Psallidaki, George Kandylis, Katerina Vezyrgianni, Christina Varouxi,  The National Center of Social Research (ΕΚΚΕ) Athens, Greece

• Country Dossier Turkey / WP7: Examining the Aspirations and Trajectories of Migrants in Turkey - WP7 Country Dossier by: Susan Beth Rottmann, Maissam Nimer,  Özyeğin University  and  N. Ela Gökalp-Aras, Umutcan Yüksel, Hakan Ünay,    Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul

• Country Dossier Nigeria/ WP4: Navigating the Complexities of Return Migration and Reintegration: Challenges and Opportunities for Nigerian Migrants from North Africa in the Context of EU Policies by Ngozi Louis Uzomah, Ignatius Ani Madu,  Chukwuedozie K. Ajaero, Eberechukwu J. Ezea, University of Nigeria

• Country Dossier Lebanon / WP4: Return migration governance in the African and Middle Eastern regions and the role of the EU, by Nora Stel, Radboud University  and  Maissam Nimer, Özyeğin University

Click here to see recent blog posts such as:

• Irregularisation as a process reproduced through the asylum system in Greece by: Eva Papatzani, George Kandylis, Penny Koutrolikou, Panos Hatziprokopiou, | National Centre for Social Research, EKKE

• Search and Rescue in the Central Mediterranean Sea: Tunisia Between the Hammer and the Anvil by: Hanen Ben Othman, University of Sousse

• Jordan's Open Doors: Embracing Refugees Without Borders by: Jamal Al Shalabi, Rasha Istaiteyeh | Hashemite University

• The Palestinians’ Sumud in The West Bank – Once You Leave, Return is Out of The Question by: Selina Engelberth, Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies

• Enhancing the Study of Return Migration Diplomacy through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) by: Samet Apaydın, University of Glasgow | Zeynep Sahin-Mencütek, BICC | Gerasimos Tsourapas, University of Glasgow