Transnational city networks and migration policy

Abstract

Increased migration flows and disconcerted responses by national governments have led to a proliferation of transnational city networks in the domain of migration. This policy brief provides an overview of twenty-seven such networks based in Europe and shows that their activities have six distinct but overlapping functions: effectively sharing information, showcasing, story-telling, shaming governments, seeking international and European support as well as standard-setting. In some instances, this proliferation of networks leads to both an overlap between network activities, as well as inefficiency in resource usage. Means ought to be created to keep an overview of transnational city networks and their membership, activities and functions in order to avoid unnecessary resource allocation and ensure better coordination, cooperation and possibly a division of labour among these networks.