ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the influence of conflicts and wars, economic inequalities and environmental fragilities upon human mobility in and from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a special focus on Syria and the current so-called “refugee crisis”. The text outlines how complicated the issue of (forced) migration is, especially in a politically, economically, and socially fragmented environment like the MENA region. The most important points are the diverse reasons for human mobility within the region; the differentiation between internal and international migration; the inclusion of environmental issues as drivers for migration; and the necessity of approaching cases like Syria from a historical point of view in order to understand their relationship to human mobility. Research gaps in the MENA migration studies as well as policy recommendations are highlighted.
