The Paradox of Cooperative Migration Diplomacy in South-South Migration: Inter-Sending State Cooperation, Multilevel Diplomacy Strategies, and the Philippine State

25/4/24 12-13pm (GMT)

Abstract
How and why do sending states cooperate in the Global South in an era of global foreign policy competition? While scholars have increasingly highlighted states; use of migration diplomacy in interstate bargaining processes, the literature has yet to examine the inter-sending states; strategic use of cooperative migration diplomacy in the Global South. Using a case study approach of the Philippine state via the;migration diplomacy framework; I argue, firstly, that sending states in the Global South manipulate complex interstate power relations by employing multilevel cooperative diplomatic strategies toward other sending states, including bilateral (learning), multilateral (cooperation), and global (positioning) levels. Secondly, sending states in the Global South have devised these cooperative diplomatic approaches to solidify inter-sending state coalitions and enhance their interstate bargaining power, legitimacy, and reputational status. Methodologically, I employ semi-structured interviews with Filipino state and non-state officials and migration experts (N = 15) and field observations at multilateral migration conferences, combined with process tracing and document analysis of government, policy, and media sources in English and Filipino. Overall, the study contributes to empirical and theoretical debates by highlighting the paradox of inter-sending states; positive sum foreign policy dynamics and the politics of South-South migration cooperation.

Keywords: South-South cooperation; migration diplomacy; Philippines; bargaining power;
Global South

Biography
Froilan Malit, Jr., is a visiting fellow at the American University in Dubai, specializing in the linkages between foreign policy and migration in the Asia-Gulf Corridor. For more than a decade, Malit has worked as a Middle East migration policy consultant for regional and international organizations, including the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, the ILO, the IOM, the World Bank, and other global think tanks, academic institutions, and migrant civil society institutions. He is also a member of the ILO Regional Office for Arab States’ Migration Advisory Group and a senior associate researcher at GLMM. His academic publications appeared in various journals, including the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Global Studies Quarterly, International Migration, Asia Pacific and Migration Studies (forthcoming), and others.