Migration Management, Governance, and Repression in Africa

Migration management has become a central component of international foreign assistance, with donor governments investing billions of dollars to curb migration from the Global South. Though framed as an effective strategy, what are the consequences of this approach for the countries that receive this assistance?
Join Baker Institute Fellow for the Middle East Kelsey Norman and co-author Nicholas Micinski for a discussion of their new book, "Aiding Autocrats: Migration Management, Governance, and Repression in Africa" (Cambridge University Press, 2026). Drawing on original data and case studies from North and sub-Saharan Africa, the authors examine how migration management aid can strengthen political elites, reinforce authoritarian governance, and ultimately increase repression, not only toward migrants and refugees but also citizens.

The conversation will also consider how recent significant reductions in global aid may reshape migration management policies in the years ahead. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between migration, foreign assistance, governance, and repression—and what these dynamics mean for policymakers, practitioners, and migrants and refugees themselves.

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Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, 6100 Main Street, Houston, United States

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