Myths, hysteria, panic. As the migrant and refugee crisis has reached fever pitch in recent months, so has political and media fear-mongering, but what are the facts behind the headlines? Hear from Professor Hein de Haas on what drives migration, whether the current crisis could have been avoided with different policies, and what practical solutions politicians should now be implementing.

This talk will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CGtgCayVM8

There will be a drinks reception after the lecture, all welcome

About the speaker

Professor Hein de Haas is a Professor of Sociology, with a special focus on the study of migration and social cohesion, at the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. De Haas was previously, from 2011 - 2015, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin School's International Migration Institute (IMI) and, from 2006 - 2015, a Senior Researcher and University Lecturer in Migration Studies at the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) at the University of Oxford. In addition, De Haas is Professor of Migration and Development at the University of Maastricht.

In his research, De Haas focuses on the reciprocal linkages between migration and broader processes of social transformation and development in origin and destination countries. His theoretical and empirical publications cover a wide range of issues, including migration determinants, the effectiveness of migration policies, the development implications of migration, transnationalism and rural-urban transformations. He has extensive fieldwork experience in the Middle East and North Africa and, particularly, in Morocco.

De Haas is co-author (with Stephen Castles and Mark Miller) of The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, a leading text book in the field of migration studies.