Researching migration in West Africa: A systematic and reflexive review

Abstract In West Africa, migration is, in various forms, an integral part of people’s everyday lives. Though most migration takes place within the region, the academic focus is laid on intercontinental migration. Today, a growing body of literature takes intra-regional mobility and migration in West Africa into account. However, a systematic review of publications, which provides an overview of focal points and conjunctures of subject areas, has not yet been conducted. By analysing publications that focus on migration within West Africa, this study seeks to fill this gap. Simultaneously, we apply a critical lens drawn from reflexive migration studies, which allows us to shed light on postcolonial structures and international hegemonies reflected in the research on migration in West Africa. Data was collected on March 3, 2022, using Scopus. Included were 656 articles in English, French and German language listed in the database. The analysis shows that while research mainly concentrates on single countries (Ghana and Nigeria), the thematic focus is predominantly on economic (work) and social issues (social relations and family), with a recent increase on environmental topics (climate change). We further identified a disproportionate focus on the outcomes rather than drivers of migration with an emphasis on urban areas, which acknowledges previous findings on an ‘urban trap’ in research. By applying the concept of translocality to data, this study seeks to challenge the rural-urban dichotomy in the field. Additionally, the study addresses a critical gap in migration studies by focusing on underexplored themes like gender and youth migration. While male adult migrants appear as the norm, women and young people are underrepresented. In line with the claim of reflexive migration studies to establish increased (self-)reflection in the field on how knowledge is generated and discussed, we took a closer look at the affiliations of research. Results show a dominant share of affiliations with institutions based in the US and European countries (former colonizers of West African states) and not in West Africa itself. The discussion of these findings provides a fruitful vantage point for drawing attention to the Global North dominance in research. It highlights the importance of a shift towards decolonised knowledge production in order to reduce the hegemonic power imbalances in the field.