The Arab spring and migration in Egypt : one year on : impacts, perceptions and attitudes

Abstract

It is important to understand the various perspectives on migration issues in order to develop effective and coherent migration policies both in sending and receiving countries. This study attempts to give a snapshot of the most recent migration trends in and out of Egypt since the January 25th, 2011 revolution. It addresses various political parties’ and prominent figures’ perception on migration policy and its position in the current political dialogue as well as migration sentiments of young men and women almost one and a half years after the start of the revolution. However, it is important to clarify the situation in Egypt is extremely volatile at the moment hence making it more difficult to access the implications brought forth by this research. Given the current struggle between the political Islamists, the old guard and the revolutionaries over all three branches of power, the executive, legislative and judicial branches the outcome will inevitably impact policy directions including those that reflect on migration.