Welcome to the conference entitled “Navigating Return Migration:  What Next? Diplomacy, Infrastructures, and Pathways Beyond”. We look forward to welcoming you to Antalya.

Conference Program

DAY ONE – Thursday, January 22, 2026

08:30–09:00 | Registration & Coffee/Tea
09:00–09:15 | Welcome & Opening Remarks - Rector (TBC) & Nimer, Maissam (Akdeniz University)
09:15–09:30 | Presentation of the GAPs Project - Sahin-Mencutek, Zeynep; Barthoma, Soner
09:30–10:45 | Plenary Session - KEYNOTE : Anna Triandafyllidou (Toronto Metropolitan University)
10:45–11:00 | Coffee/Tea Break
11:00–12:30 | Parallel Sessions I

Panel Ia: State Strategies and Policy Transfers (LEGAL/POLICY)

Moderator: Sahin-Mencutek, Zeynep

  • A Typology of Return Migration Policies: Comparative Insights from Origin Countries. Şenel, Gülece (Ahmet Yesevi University); Bayraktar Aksel. Damla (Bahcesehir University) 

  • Bringing the Economy Back into Migration Governance: Erdoğan’s Return Strategy for Syrian Refugees. Aydemir, Nermin (Antalya Bilim University) 

  • Transnational Policy Transfers in Return Migration Governance: Parallels Between German and Turkish Return Narratives. Rass-Turgut, Seda (University of Applied Science and Art) 

  • For a Common System of Returns: The Costs of Efficiency. Galicz, Kamilla (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies)

  • Expanding Role of IOM and UNHCR in the Governance of Humanitarian Returns: Discipline, Biopolitics and State Redeployment. Ahouga, Younes (Toronto Metropolitan University)


Panel Ib: Emotions, Aspirations, and Diasporic Politics/Displaced Subjectivities (ASPIRATIONS) 

Moderator: Barthoma, Soner

  • Unsettling Home: Syrian Refugees in Türkiye and the Limits of Voluntary Repatriation. Aksu Kargin, İnci (Uşak University); Teke Lloyd, Armağan (Abdullah Gül University) 

  • Emotional Justice and Return Aspirations: Poetic ethnography about Syria’s Regime Change. Alpes, Jill (University of Paris and Lebanese American University). 

  • A Last Journey Home: Rethinking Reverse Transnationalism among Turkish Diasporic Communities through Deceased Members’ Repatriation Programs. Ortega Sanchez, Carlos (Istanbul University). 

  • Displacement, Belonging, and Aspirations for Return in the Case of Crimean Tatars in Turkey. Coskun, Bezen (TED University).

  • A gendered perspective on the temporariness of the Highly Skilled Migrants: Dilemmas and paradoxes. Daouk-Öyry, Lina, & Samuk Carignani, Sahizer (BI Norwegian Business School). 


Panel Ic: Reintegration at the Governance Level (REINTEGRATION) 

Moderator: Cetrez, Onver

  • Politics of the 2025 US Deportations to India and Ambivalence of Transnationalism in the Society of Origin. Moliner, Christine (OP Jindal Global University) 

  • Legal Architecture as a Determinant of Migrants’ Resilience: The Case of Highly Skilled Return Migrants in Türkiye. Şenel, Gulece (Ahmet Yesevi University) 

  • The Role of Policy in Return Migration and Development: Insights from Croatia and Kosovo. Pinkow-Läpple, Janine Isabelle (Humboldt University Berlin); Caroline Hornstein Tomić (Goethe-University Frankfurt) and Ana Budimir (University of Zagreb) 

  • Reintegration Assistance Without Reintegration: How Inequalities and Return Preparedness Shape the Impacts of Reintegration Assistance. Vollmer, Ruth (BICC) 

  • Returning from Europe to an IDP Camp? Iraqi Yazidis a Decade After ISIS Genocide. Ancite-Jepifánova, Aleksandra (King's College London) 


Panel Id: Infrastructure Governance of Restriction (INFRASTRUCTURE)

Moderator: Gokalp Aras, Nefise Ela

  • Effectiveness, Sustainability and Voluntariness: Swedish Return and Readmission Policies in Light of the TIDÖ Agreement. Ibricevic, Aida (Linköping University) 

  • Analysis of Policy Changes Regarding Return in Germany Since 2015: The Authoritarian Overregulation of Every-Day Life. Schurade, Svenja (Georg-August Universität Göttingen) 

  • Systemic Shortcomings in Italian Return and Reintegration Policies: State Agents’ Points of View. Cimino, Francesca; Perocco, Fabio (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) 


12:30–13:30 | Lunch
13:30–15:00 | Parallel Sessions II

Panel IIa: Regional Governance, Externalisation and Contestation (DIPLOMACY)

Moderator: Olakpe, Oreva (TBC)

  • The agnopolitics of refoulement: migration diplomacy and the un/knowing of regional refugee deportation. Stel, Nora (Radboud University) 

  • Budgeting Borders: EU Funding, Return Infrastructure, and Differentiated Externalization in Turkey. Gokalp Aras, Nefise Ela and Yüksel, Umutcan (Swedish Research Institute in Turkey). 

  • Rwanda as a Return Country: A Case of Third-Country Agreements in Migration Policy. Alacam Bocek, Müge (Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Univesity) 

  • African Migration and the Politics of Fear: Return as a Tool of Regulation. Lahlou, Mehdi (INSEA & AMI). 

  • Decentering the Study of Coerced Return: African Supranational Return Diplomacy in Focus. Olakpe, Oreva (Toronto Metropolitan University) 


Panel IIb: Circuits of Aspiration: Migration, Return, and the Desire to Move Again (ASPIRATIONS)

Moderator: Kandylis, George (TBC)

  • Rethinking Sustainable Return: Migration Aspirations in Post-2021 Afghanistan. Hamid, Shapoor (Bilim Research and Social Studies) 

  • To Stay or to Move Again? Conceptualizing dilemmas after return migration. Jung, Philipp (Osnabrueck University). 

  • Complex and non-linear trajectories for migrants under the risk of return in Greece. Papatzani, Eva; Psallidaki, Timokleia; Kandylis, George; Vezyrgianni, Katerina; Varouxi, Christina (EKKE) 

  • Post-Deportation Desperation and Refocusing of Aspirations of the Mexicans Deported from the United States. Radziwinowiczówna, Agnieszka (University of Warsaw) 


Panel IIc: Reintegration Experience (REINTEGRATION)

Moderator: Mielke, Katja

  • Between Failure and Success: The Local Narratives and Dynamics of Return Migration in Senegal. Lenoël, Audrey (EHESS, ICM) 

  • Dynamics of Welcome: Reception and Re-Adaptation in Return Migration - Polish Case. Dziekońska, Małgorzata (University of Bialystok) 

  • Empowering Returnees: Reintegration Experiences of Former Indonesian Technical Intern Trainees from Japan in Java and Bali. Ramdani, Andi Holik (Hashimoto Foundation Societas Research Institute) 

  • Navigating Unfinished Journeys: Social Dynamics and the Fractured Realities of Return Among African Migrants in Morocco. Omolusi, Ayobami Emmanuel (Mohammed VI Polytechnic University) 

  • From Reintegration to Wellbeing: Capabilities and Post-Return - Lives in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, and Tunisia. Hamid, Shapoor (Bilim Research and Social Studies); Courtney, Matthew Gordon Ray (Nazarbayev University) 


Panel IId: Gendered Reflections and Experiences on (Non-)Return and Reintegration

Moderator: Rottmann, Susan

  • Returning to Precarity: Gendered Reintegration Experiences of Women Returnees in Climate and Conflict-Affected South Asia. Asif, Fajeera (DevTrio) 

  • Prolonging the Temporary: Female-Headed Syrian Refugee Households on Displacement, Return and Waiting post-Assad. Diab, Jasmin Lilian (Lebanese American University) 

  • Gendering the Forced Mobility and Return: Narratives of Syrian Women in Syria and

  • Turkey. Eren Benlisoy, Zeynep Ceren (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Altaema, Mariam; Kasli, Zeynep (Erasmus University Rotterdam) 


15:00–15:30 | Coffee/Tea Break
15:30–17:00 | Parallel Sessions III


Panel IIIa: Agency in Migration and Return Decision-Making (ASPIRATIONS)

Moderator: Nimer, Maissam

  • Trapped, Aspiring, Reluctant or Precarious? Seeing Agency in Migrant Trajectories in Turkey and Morocco. Rottmann, Susan (Ozyegin University); Nimer, Maissam (Akdeniz University). 

  • Understanding return through the integration-transnationalism matrix: the case of Ghanaian immigrants. Kyeremeh, Emmanuel (Toronto Metropolitan University). 

  • Choosing to Stay: Non-Return Intentions of Highly Skilled Turkish Migrants in Ireland. Gökalp Kutlu, Ayşegül (Kocaeli University).  

  • Rethinking Return Pathways of Syrian Migrants in the Periphery of Istanbul. Ergün, Begüm (Boston University); Kahraman, Rümeysa & Güngörür, Kadri (Refugees Association)

  • Choosing to Stay: Voluntary Immobility and Malaysia's Repatriation Policies for Syrian Refugees. Hasif, Nik; Shafinaz Nazri, Atika and Othman, Zarina (National University of Malaysia) 


Panel IIIb: Returns of forced returnees, high-skilled migrants, voluntary returnees, and labour migrants (REINTEGRATION)

Moderator: Puthoopparambil, Soorej Jose

  • Does sense of community buffer the association between experiences of discrimination and the well-being of EU-based Nigeria Returnees? Ajaero, Chukwuedozie Kelechukwu; Uzomah, Ngozi; Madu, Ignatius and Ezea, Eberechukwu Jennifer (University of Nigeria Nsukka) 

  • Aspirations Before Return, Realities After Return: Tracing the Reintegration Journey of Indonesian Migrant Workers. Widyastuti, Retno (Nexus Indonesia Initiatives) 

  • Coming Home: Reintegration Experiences of Kazakh Labor Migrants Returning from Turkiye. Urinboyev, Rustamjon (Lund University); Kumiskhojayeva, Albina (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) 

  • Beyond the Borders: Uncovering the Social Harms of Return Migration through a Zemiological Lens. Schreier, Simona (University for Continuing Education Krems) 

  • Coordinating Reintegration in Complex Contexts: Lessons from Nordic Cooperation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Hammarstedt, Anna; Bergsten, Jenny; Luthman, Iris (Swedish Delegation for Migration Studies) 

  • Return as Part of an Ongoing Migration Journey: Migrants’ Experiences of “Voluntary” Return and Deportation in Nigeria. Akpuogwu, Chiamaka Rita (Carl von Ossietzky University) and Bendixsen, Synnøve (University of Bergen) 


Panel IIIc: Histories and Transformations of Deportation Regimes (LEGAL/POLICY)

Moderator: Barthoma, Soner 

  • From Social Gatekeeping to Deporting Protection Seekers: Transforming Fundamentals of the Finnish Deportation Regime Since the 1950s. Välimäki, Matti (University of Helsinki) 

  • Port returns in the UK: A new method of bordering the post-Brexit EU migration. Radziwinowiczówna, Agnieszka; Jarosz, Ewa and Scovil, Jonathan (University of Warsaw)

  • Beyond Rejection: Determinants of Return and Regularization Among Rejected Asylum Seekers in Germany. Peitz, Laura (German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) Torres Chedraui, Ana Maria (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Stache, Randy (German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees); Leerkes, Arjen (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Gu, Jiancheng (University for Continuing Education Krems) 

  • Racism Reborn? Deportability and Evictability of Bulgarian and Romanian Roma Migrants in France (2007-2016). Bouillard, Emma (Toronto Metropolitan University) 


Panel IIId: MEET THE MIGRATION JOURNAL EDITORS from GAPs

Moderator: Sahin-Mencutek, Zeynep

  • Triandafyllidou, Anna (Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies)

  • Tsourapas, Gerasimos (Migration Studies)


17:00–17:30 | Preliminary Book Launch: GAPs Edited Volume 

Moderator: Cetrez, Onver

  • Outline of edited volume book

  • Presentation of chapter: Data as Part of Return Migration Infrastructures: Circulation, Fragmentation and Foregrounding - Schapendonk, Joris; Yılmaz-Elmas, Fatma.

DAY TWO – Friday, January 23, 2026

08:30–09:00 | Registration & Coffee/Tea
09:00–10:30 | Parallel Sessions IV

Panel IVa: Affective and Emotional Dimensions of Return Decisions (ASPIRATIONS)

Moderator: Rottmann, Susan

  • The Downfall of Assad: Syrian Refugees’ Settlement Intention after Unexpected Regime Change. Hammer, Luisa; Kassam, Kamal (Institute for Employment Research)

  • Return Tendencies of Syrian Refugees: The Case of Şanliurfa. Şahin, Mehmet; Kaya, Mahmut (Harran University)

  • Ambivalent Futures: Syrian Refugees in Europe and the Elusive Notion of Return. Albakkor, Abduhalim (University of Groningen) 

  • Navigating Return: Social Media, Identity, and Belonging among Syrian Migrants and Returnees. Zeyn, Muhammed (University of Oxford) 


Panel IVb: Return Infrastructure and the Reintegration Spectrum:  Determinant of Reintegration and Re-migration (REINTEGRATION)

Moderator: Sahin-Mencutek, Zeynep

  • Are Returnees Who Feel Excluded and Unhappy More Likely to Migrate Again? Analysis of Factors Influencing Repeat Migration Preferences. Baraulina, Tatjana and Kothe, Christian (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Germany) 

  • Reintegration upon Return: Social and Institutional Invisibility of Turkish Return Migrants from Austria and the Netherlands. Arslan Türkoğlu, Hilal (METU); Çavlin, Alanur (Hacettepe University); Stroehle, Claudius (International Institute of Applied System Analysis); Abbasoğlu Özgören, Ayşe (Hacettepe University) 

  • Post-COVID Re-migration Aspirations and Cost Barriers among Gulf Returnees from North India. Mustaqeem, Muskan (V. V. Giri National Labour Institute) 

  • Neglected Irregular Migrants: Can Irregular and Low-Skilled or Semi-Skilled Migrants be a Catalyst for Local Development Through Brain Gain? Dhakal, Anil (Toronto Metropolitan University) 

  • Re-Migration Intentions Across Four Different Contexts: Moving Beyond the Failed Returns Paradigm. Serrano, Inmaculada and Lucía Fernández (Spanish National Research Council) (TBC)


Panel IVc: Reintegration Infrastructure in Practice (INFRASTRUCTURE)

Moderator: Papatzani, Eva (TBC)

  • Bridging the Gap: Reintegration Hubs as Grassroots Infrastructure for Sustainable Return in Nigeria. Aihawu, Victor (Centre for Youths Integrated Development & Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration) 

  • From Trainees to Gatekeepers: Returnees and the Reproduction of Indonesia–Japan Migration Infrastructures. Istiqomah, Waode Hanifah (Hitotsubashi University) 

  • Ambiguous Governance in Times of Crisis: Investigating Return Infrastructure under Afghanistan’s De Facto Rule. Siddikoglu, Hidayet (Bilim Organisation for Research and Social Studies) 

  • Infrastructuring migrant reintegration? The case of the Philippines. Opiniano, Jeremaiah (University of Santo Tomas, IMDI) (TBC)


Panel IVd: Diplomatic Power Asymmetries and Return Agreements (DIPLOMACY) Moderator: Stel, Nora (TBC)

  • France's migration diplomacy with its former colonies: between security cooperation and strategic dependence. Belgacem, Karim (ESSCA Lyon) 

  • Return Migration Policies in the Context of Diaspora Diplomacy: The Cases of Kazakhstan and India. Tauscher, Soner; Zhumadilla, Bauyrzhan (Sakarya University) 

  • Irregularization and Legibility: Lebanon’s Shifting Strategies in Governing Refugee Return to Syria. Stel, Nora (Radboud University); Nimer, Maissam (Akdeniz University)

  • The Tunisian Migratory Crisis: Overview and Challenges. Ben Othman, Hanen (University of Carthage) 

  • France’s Return Policies Toward Tunisia and Algeria: A Comparative Study. Yousfi, Dania (French Red Cross) (TBC)

10:30–11:00 | Coffee/Tea Break
11:00–12:30 | Parallel Sessions V

Panel Va: Negotiating Aspirations, Return, and Belonging Through Displaced Family Lives (ASPIRATIONS)

Moderator: Triandafyllidou, Anna 

  • Humanizing the debate around the return of Syrians: expectations and fears of refugees in Jordan. Napolitano, Valentina (Aix-Marseille University) 

  • Between Displacement and Return: The Role of Support Networks in Ukrainian Refugees' Migration Trajectories. Bărbuță, Alina (Babeș-Bolyai University) 

  • Between Two Homes: Navigating the Longing for Return among Mixed-Married Turkish Migrants in the North West of England. Çostu, Mehmet Davut (Erzincan Binali Yildirim University)

  • Kesin Dönüş? Rethinking the ‘Final Return’ for Turkish Transnational Families. Selçuk, Ozan (Recep Tayyip Erdogan University) 

  • Between Staying and Returning: Syrian Refugee Aspirations and Immobility in Urban Lebanon. Kvasničková, Kristýna (Charles University) 


Panel Vb: Perspectives on Infrastructure from the Global South (INFRASTRUCTURE)

Moderator: Schapendonk, Joris (TBC)

  • Deportee Reception Landscape at Mexico’s Northern Border: The México te abraza (Mexico Embraces You) Program. Hernández Degollado, Ana Karen (Kino Border Initiative)

  • Return Regime: Toward a More Transnational Understanding of the Governance and Contestation of Return. Altrogge, Judith (University of Osnabrueck) 

  • Humanitarian Governmentality in Practice: The Politics of Aid-Driven Migration Management. Mete, Emre (Ludovika University of Public Service) 

  • Return challenges for Roma asylum seekers from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Oruc, Nermin (Centre for Development Evaluation and Social Science Research); Kotorri, Mrika (University of Prishtina, Rochester Institute of Technology Kosovo) 

  • Governing Returns in a Pariah State - Reflections on Afghanistan's Governance of Mass Returns. Mielke, Katja (BICC) 


Panel Vc: International Organizations, Law, and Rights in Return Governance (LEGAL/POLICY)

Moderator: Ozturk, Neva

  • Streamlining Returns, Undermining Rights? The Impact of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum on the Right to Seek Asylum. Konyalı, Gökçe (Akdeniz University) 

  • Monitoring Human Rights in the Context of Return: Insights from the EU and Third Countries. Patteri, Antonella (Polish Academy of Sciences) 

  • Legal and Policy Limitations of Assisted Return Following Temporary Protection. Ineli Ciger, Meltem (Suleyman Demirel University) 

  • Constructive Refoulement in Law and Practice: Lessons from the

  • GAPS Horizon Project on Greece, Poland, and Turkey. Ozturk, Neva (SRII/Ankara University)


Panel Vd: SPECIAL ISSUE LAUNCH - “Processes of Migrants Return  and Reintegration: A Comparative Perspective” at International Migration

Moderator: Sahin-Mencutek, Zeynep

12:30–13:30 | Lunch
13:30–15:00 | Parallel Sessions VI

Panel VIa: Governing Return Migration Aspirations and the Politics of Possibility (ASPIRATIONS)

Moderator: Istaiteyeh, Rasha

  • Seeds of Return: How the Philippine State Cultivates and Constrains the Aspirations and Capabilities of its Scientific Diaspora. Agustin, Raffaello Khan (New York University Abu Dhabi) 

  • Between Canada and Ukraine: Tracking Return Migration Intentions Over a Decade. Nikolko, Milana; Carment, David (Carleton University) 

  • Navigating the In-Between: Return Migration Infrastructures, Aspirations, and the Politics of Temporariness. Yahya, Karam (Humboldt University of Berlin) 

Panel VIb Gender, Governance, and the Everyday Realities of Repatriation (GENDER)

Moderator: Vollmer, Ruth (TBC)

  • Gender-Responsive Return Policies and the Challenge of Dignified Return to Syria: A Critical Assessment of Germany’s Voluntary Return Approach. Mahjoub, Dima (Independent Researcher) 

  • Displaced Upon Return: Voluntary Iraqi Returnees in the Kurdistan Region. Jones-Gailani, Nadia (Central European University)

  • Imagining return: between desire and possibility. A gender perspective. Peca, Stefania; Musarò, Pierluigi (University of Bologna)

  • Conditional Return: The Gendered Politics of Temporariness and Reintegration under TPMs. Jeziorek, Marika (Wilfrid Laurier University) (TBC)


Panel VIc: Public Attitudes, Media Narratives, and Social Perceptions (HOST)

Moderator: Saleh, Lamis (TBC)

  • Discourse and Policies: Silencing Returnees and the Need for More Inclusive Return Policies. Majidi, Nassim (Wits University and Tufts University) 

  • Who Should Stay and Who Should Return? Understanding Public Attitudes Toward Return Migration in Five EU Countries. Saleh, Lamis (BICC) 

  • Public attitudes & domestic politics return migrants Iraqi Kurdistan. Baban, Harem (University of Raparin) 


Panel VId: Return infrastructures at the ground level (INFRASTRUCTURE)

Moderator: Tsourapas, Gerasimos

  • Assisted Return Infrastructure between Voluntariness and Coercion. The Case of AVRR in Greece. Kandylis, George; Papatzani, Eva; Psallidaki, Timokleia; Varouxi, Christina; Vezyrgianni, Katerina; Ηatziprokopiou, Panos (EKKE) 

  • Nudging under Constraint: Behavioural Techniques in Dutch Dublin Transfer Implementation. El Amouri, Imen (Tilburg University) 

  • “I wish I could do more, but you cannot do more.” Experiences of Healthcare Workers in Swedish Immigration Detention Centers. Puthoopparambil, Soorej Jose (Uppsala University) 

  • The Sleeking of Migration Governance: From Policy Linearity and Efficiency to Turbulence and Absurdity in Return Migration Infrastructures. Schapendonk, Joris (Radboud University) (TBC)


15:00–15:15 | Coffee/Tea Break

15:15–17:00 | Closing Plenary Session - KEYNOTES: Shahram Khosravi (Stockholm University), Linda Oucho (African Migration and Development Policy Centre)
17:00–17:30 | Screening of Short Videos & Discussion on Digital Storytelling and Anthology

Please note that there is no registration fee to attend the conference.

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