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Open research questions in Migration, Refugees, and Integration

441 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 9,216 Migration, Refugees, and Integration papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • further research on the experiences of South Asians during the Windrush Scandal, - more studies on the long-term impact of the Windrush Scandal on its victims

    “ … they can change their mind about anything”: temporality, citizenship, belonging and the Windrush Scandal · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in scholarship attention to temporality regarding the loss of citizenship after living as a British citizen. The paper identifies a lack of understanding of the experiences of those who directly experienced the Windrush Scandal. The study highlights the need to explore the temporal nature of citizenship and belonging in the context of the scandal.

    “ … they can change their mind about anything”: temporality, citizenship, belonging and the Windrush Scandal · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of how inconsistencies between legal recognition and material protection impact the mental health of LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers. The need for a framework to analyze the impact of asylum governance on mental health. The gap in policy changes to reduce evidentiary burdens in SOGIESC asylum claims and expand LGBTIQ+-affirming mental health services.

    Governing Legibility: Recognition, Protection, and Mental Health Among LGBTIQ+ Asylum Seekers in the United Kingdom and Lebanon · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in understanding how young people navigate the transformation of English residential streets with nationalist flags. There is a lack of research on the embodied intersectionality of nationalist movements in a territorial register. The study highlights the need to extend mainstreaming frameworks from discourse into space.

    ‘They don’t want us here’: Reworking neighbourhood nationalism in post-Southport England · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap between public narratives and available evidence on undocumented migration. The study notes that the absence of reliable data on undocumented migrants has led to political rhetoric, sensationalism, and fear determining what is perceived as fact. The paper highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the issue.

    Between contribution and contestation: a desktop analysis of the economic and criminal justice implications of undocumented migration in South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • tracing a critical history of English housing policy in light of contemporary anti-migrant narratives, - extending Hall et al.'s analysis of moral panic to the contemporary moment

    Migration and housing policy in England: Rethinking narratives of crisis · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the existing literature, which often discusses the housing crisis and the perceived crisis of migration separately. It highlights the need to understand the intertwined outcomes of the housing crisis and the perceived crisis of migration in England. The authors argue that the existing literature has not adequately addressed the role of ideological, historical, and economic processes in shaping the housing crisis and the perceived crisis of migration.

    Migration and housing policy in England: Rethinking narratives of crisis · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap in existing research lies in the lack of attention to the affective dimensions of discourse in sociolinguistic analyses. Prior work has traditionally failed to fully capture the affective dimensions of discourse, often treating affect as its 'by-product' rather than a 'central element'. The paper aims to address this gap by analyzing the communicative dynamics of diasporic affect.

    The communicative dynamics of diasporic affect in a conflict-affected community: The case of Greek-Cypriot diaspora · 2025 · DOI

  • Investigate the long-term effects of free choice on refugee integration and social inclusion. Explore the impact of demographic factors on hospitality policies across different regions.

    The Refugee Hospitality Dilemma: Between Universalism and Closure · 2025 · DOI

  • Future research should foreground distinctions between non-binary and women's accounts.

    ‘They don’t want us here’: Reworking neighbourhood nationalism in post-Southport England · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in addressing the procedural dilemmas of refugee policies through practical examples like Ukraine's situation.

    The Refugee Hospitality Dilemma: Between Universalism and Closure · 2025 · DOI

  • What explains the president’s executive actions on immigration? Although research has detailed how the political context motivates presidents to issue executive orders broadly, limited research has applied these expectations to a specific policy area, like immigration.

    The President’s Immigration Executive Actions · 2026 · DOI

  • Afghan migrant women provide a compelling case, justified by their intersecting origins and the limited research on their experiences.

    Refugee Camps as Contested Gendered Spaces: Afghan Women's Liminality, Inequality, and Agency in Germany · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite the significance of the scheme, little is known about the geography of refugees and hosts, factors that have influenced this geography, and how this geographical distribution shaped the temporary integration of Ukrainian refugees.

    Homes for Ukraine: Understanding the Geography of Ukrainian Refugees and Hosts in Great Britain · 2026 · DOI

  • Combating the recent surge of anti-Asian racism requires a collective effort that includes the willingness of nontarget bystanders to intervene, but little is known about the circumstances under which they are willing to do so.

    Step by step: Anti‐Asian discrimination and bystander intervention · 2025 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of Italy's complementary protection debate. It highlights the need to distinguish between remigration and integration or reimmigration.

    Italy's "Complementary Protection" Debate: Why "Integration or ReImmigration" Is Not the Same as "Remigration" · 2026 · DOI

  • This study presents a critical interpretation of hospitality in crisis by concentrating on food insecurity resulting from government and non-government food policies in England, that are inhospitable towards forced migrants – contributing to an area of enquiry with limited research in food and hospitality studies.

    Hospitality in Crisis: Deciphering Food Insecurity Among Migrants from a Derridean Perspective · 2026

  • Future research should further explore the concept of neo-ethnicisation and its implications for the governance of citizenship by investment programmes. Future research should examine the impact of the EU's governance of citizenship by investment programmes on the rights of individuals and the concept of citizenship.

    Neo-Ethnicisation of Citizenship: The EU’s Internal and External Governance of Citizenship by Investment · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in the literature on the EU's governance of citizenship by investment programmes, particularly in relation to the concept of neo-ethnicisation. The existing literature on citizenship by investment programmes does not fully capture the complexities of the EU's governance of these programmes.

    Neo-Ethnicisation of Citizenship: The EU’s Internal and External Governance of Citizenship by Investment · 2026 · DOI

  • Politically, issues of cultural diversity, community cohesion and nuisance and distressing behaviour are often linked (Collic-Peisker and Robertson, 2014), however, despite this, there has been limited research linking these two issues.

    “We know we are outsiders”: migrant experiences of antisocial behaviour victimisation · 2026

  • The paper highlights the complexity of refugee experiences and the need for a nuanced understanding of temporal dimensions. It notes the challenges of analyzing temporal dimensions in refugee studies, particularly in terms of sequencing and synchronization. The paper also highlights the importance of considering the micro, meso, and macro levels of the social world.

    Time in refugee studies: a conceptual literature review and prospects from a social theory lens · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research can build on the paper's findings to develop more effective refugee policies. It can explore the application of temporal dimensions in different contexts and populations. The paper's advocacy for a balanced approach can guide future research on refugee studies.

    Time in refugee studies: a conceptual literature review and prospects from a social theory lens · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of how genocide recognition operates across institutional settings. There is a need to consider the racialized moral geographies that shape which forms of suffering become institutionally actionable.

    Diasporic Governance After the Yazidi Genocide: The Circulation of Recognition Across Juridico-Political Registers in Germany · 2026 · DOI

  • The study focuses on a specific case of moral panic decline, which may not be generalizable to other contexts. The analysis is limited to media coverage and qualitative interviews, which may not capture the full complexity of the issue. The study does not provide a comprehensive analysis of the structural factors underlying the moral panic.

    Volatile Boundaries: The Decline of Anti-Polish Migrant Moral Panic in Post-Brexit Britain · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the dynamics of moral panic and its decline. The paper highlights the need for a more nuanced analysis of the role of institutional mediation and affective investment in sustaining moral panic. The study suggests that prior research has overlooked the importance of considering the affective mechanisms underlying moral panic.

    Volatile Boundaries: The Decline of Anti-Polish Migrant Moral Panic in Post-Brexit Britain · 2026 · DOI

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441 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 9,216 Migration, Refugees, and Integration papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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