INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF MASSIVE GLOBAL MIGRATION AND PROFFERED SOLUTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21352681Keywords:
Massive global migration, armed conflict, economic conditions, political instability, environmental factors, migration governance.Abstract
Massive global migration has emerged as one of the most significant international issues of the twenty-first century, influencing global security, economic development, humanitarian protection and international relations. This paper investigated the causes of massive global migration and proffered practical solutions for addressing the factors driving large-scale cross-border population movements. Specifically, the paper examined the major causes of massive global migration, assessed the influence of armed conflict, economic conditions, political instability and environmental factors on migration, examined the socio-economic and humanitarian implications of massive global migration on countries of origin and destination, and proposed practical measures for promoting safe, orderly and sustainable migration. The paper was anchored on the Aspirations–Capabilities Theory of Migration and Migration Systems Theory. A systematic desk review design was adopted. Data were obtained from recent scholarly books and peer-reviewed journal articles. The paper revealed that armed conflict, economic inequalities, political instability and environmental degradation remain the principal drivers of massive global migration, while established migration networks further sustain international migration flows. The paper further found that migration generates both developmental opportunities and humanitarian challenges, including remittances, labour mobility, brain drain, pressure on public services and protection concerns for displaced populations. The paper concluded that sustainable migration governance requires integrated policies that address the structural causes of migration rather than relying primarily on restrictive border measures. It recommended strengthened peacebuilding and good governance, expanded economic and climate-resilience programmes in countries of origin, and enhanced international cooperation through safe and regular migration pathways, migrant protection and coordinated migration governance.
References
Adams, R. H., Jr., & Cuecuecha, A. (2013). The impact of remittances on investment and poverty in developing countries. World Development, 50, 94–108.
Aksoy, C. G., & Poutvaara, P. (2021). Refugees' and irregular migrants' self-selection into Europe. Journal of Development Economics, 152, 102681.
Arjona, A. (2020). Wartime institutions: A research agenda. Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Bahar, D., Dooley, M., & Selee, A. (2020). Venezuelan migration, crime, and misperceptions: A review of the evidence. Migration Policy Institute.
Benjaminsen, T. A., & Ba, B. (2019). Why do pastoralists in Mali join jihadist groups? A political ecological explanation. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 46(1), 1–20.
Betts, A., & Collier, P. (2017). Refuge: Transforming a broken refugee system. Allen Lane.
Carling, J., & Collins, F. (2018). Aspiration, desire and drivers of migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(6), 909–926. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1384134
Castles, S., de Haas, H., & Miller, M. J. (2020). The age of migration: International population movements in the modern world (6th ed.). Red Globe Press.
Clemens, M. A. (2021). The real root causes of Central American migration. Center for Global Development.
Crawley, H., & Skleparis, D. (2018). Refugees, migrants, neither, both: Categorical fetishism and the politics of bounding in Europe's migration crisis. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(1), 48–64.
Czaika, M. (Ed.). (2024). The Routledge handbook of migration studies (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Czaika, M., & Reinprecht, C. (2022). Migration drivers: Why do people migrate? In M. Czaika (Ed.), Introduction to migration studies. Springer.
Czaika, M., & Reinprecht, C. (2022). Drivers of migration: A synthesis of knowledge. In M. Czaika (Ed.), Handbook of migration and globalisation (pp. 41–58). Edward Elgar Publishing.
de Haas, H. (2010). Migration and development: A theoretical perspective. International Migration Review, 44(1), 227–264.
de Haas, H. (2021). A theory of migration: The aspirations–capabilities framework. Comparative Migration Studies, 9(1), Article 8.
de Haas, H. (2023). How migration really works: A factful guide to the most divisive issue in politics. Basic Books.
de Haas, H., Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2020). The age of migration: International population movements in the modern world (6th ed.). Red Globe Press.
de Haas, H., Czaika, M., Flahaux, M.-L., Mahendra, E., Natter, K., Vezzoli, S., & Villares-Varela, M. (2019). International migration: Trends, determinants, and policy effects. Population and Development Review, 45(4), 885–922.
Docquier, F., & Rapoport, H. (2012). Globalisation, brain drain and development. Journal of Economic Literature, 50(3), 681–730.
Dustmann, C., & Frattini, T. (2014). The fiscal effects of immigration to the UK. The Economic Journal, 124(580), F593–F643.
Ebuenyi, I. D., Adebayo, E. F., et al. (2023). Factors influencing migration intentions among Nigerian doctors: A cross-sectional study. Human Resources for Health, 21, 64.
Gallagher, A. T. (2017). The international law of migrant smuggling. Cambridge University Press.
Hoffmann, R., Dimitrova, A., Muttarak, R., Cuaresma, J. C., & Peisker, J. (2020). A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration. Nature Climate Change, 10(10), 904–912. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0898-6
Ivlevs, A., & King, R. (2023). Ukrainian refugee migration: Evidence and emerging research agenda. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
Kelley, C. P., Mohtadi, S., Cane, M. A., Seager, R., & Kushnir, Y. (2015). Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(11), 3241–3246.
Kraler, A., & Katsiaficas, C. (2021). Gender, migration and integration: Current trends and future perspectives. In A. Triandafyllidou (Ed.), Routledge handbook of immigration and refugee studies. Routledge.
Mabogunje, A. L. (1970). Systems approach to a theory of rural–urban migration. Geographical Analysis, 2(1), 1–18.
McAuliffe, M., & Oucho, L. A. (Eds.). (2024). World migration report 2024. International Organization for Migration.
Peri, G. (2016). Immigrants, productivity and labour markets. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(4), 3–30.
Soto Nishimura, A., & Czaika, M. (2024). Exploring migration determinants: A meta-analysis of migration drivers and estimates. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 25(2), 621–643.
Triandafyllidou, A. (Ed.). (2022). Routledge handbook of immigration and refugee studies. Routledge.
Vertovec, S. (2023). Super-diversity. Routledge.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ejuchegahi A. Angwaomaodoko, Edime Yunusa, Ph.D (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (CC BY 4.0 deed)