“Permeable Borders, Intertwined Challenges: Migration, Climate Crisis, and Energy Insecurity in the Mediterranean”
The Mediterranean is a paradigmatic space for the transnational challenges of the 21st century. Among them, migratory flows stand out as a central phenomenon, acting both as a thermometer of global inequalities and a catalyst for political tensions. This special issue places migration at the core of the analysis, recognizing it as a transversal axis inextricably linked to the climate crisis and (in)security in energy, forming a triad of challenges that reshapes governance, social cohesion, and human rights in the region.
These dynamics have also contributed to the emergence of a complex transnational social and political space, in which issues such as the rise of xenophobia and exclusionary discourses increasingly shape mobility, belonging, and policy responses across borders.
The increasing mediatization of borders and the outsourcing of their control through technical systems has led to new practices of surveillance and mobility management, turning migrants into subjects of data and control (Zuboff, 2019)¹. However, beyond border technopolitics, migration is a deeply human and structural phenomenon. Far from being an isolated problem, it is both a symptom and a response to broader dynamics, such as environmental degradation that forces populations to leave their territories—generating both internal displacement and cross-border flows; labor precariousness that attracts them to economies dependent on their work (e.g., intensive agriculture in Almería); and geopolitical struggles over energy resources that reshape routes and reception policies at both international and domestic levels.
In this evolving transnational context, it is also pertinent to examine how xenophobic reactions and the politicization of migration affect the possibilities of cooperation, coexistence, and shared governance within the Mediterranean space.
This special volume aims, on the one hand, to analyze the specific ways in which migration is produced, managed, and experienced in different Mediterranean contexts. On the other hand, and crucially, it seeks to reflect on the deep interconnections (nexus) between human mobility, the climate crisis, and the energy transition, exploring how these combined phenomena reshape the social, economic, and political space of the Mediterranean.
This call aligns with the research objectives of international consortia such as the inter-university team leading the project “Exploring Transnational Challenges: Climate Change, Migration, and Energy Insecurity in the Mediterranean (Acronym: TRACHMED)”. This project is funded by the European program HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and aims to understand these complexities from a transnational perspective.
Thematic Axes:
We invite submissions of articles, written in Spanish or English, addressing—among others—any of the following topics, always with human mobility as the central axis:
- Migration and Socio-Environmental Crisis:
• Climate-induced migration and environmental degradation (e.g., drought, desertification).
• Internal displacement due to climate and energy-related causes, and its impact on the reconfiguration of national territories.
• Resource conflicts (e.g., water) and their impact on migration patterns.
• Global climate justice and differentiated responsibilities in displacement. - Geopolitics, Borders, and Mobility Control:
• Outsourcing and technologization of borders.
• The impact of energy crises and geopolitical conflicts on migration routes.
• Migration and security: intersections between migration and energy policies.
• Xenophobia, identity politics, and their effects on transnational Mediterranean dynamics. - Local Economies and Working Conditions:
• Working conditions of migrants in key sectors (e.g., agriculture, care, building).
• The role of migrants in local economies and regional development models. - Cross-Cutting and Methodological Approaches:
• Analysis of the migration–climate–energy nexus.
• Case studies on specific Mediterranean local realities.
• Methodological contributions to the transnational study of migration.
• Gender approaches in the study of mobility and vulnerability.
Author Guidelines (Key Summary):
Manuscripts must strictly follow the guidelines of the Revista de Estudios Globales (Journal of Global Studies), available at:
https://revistas.um.es/reg/about/submissions#authorGuidelines
Submission Process:
- Full manuscripts must be submitted via the journal’s website: https://revistas.um.es/reg Registration and login are required.
- Submissions must not have been previously published or be under consideration by another journal.
Format and Structure:
3. File format: Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.
- Maximum length: 9000 words, including footnotes and references. Pages must be numbered.
- The manuscript must include:
- Title, abstract, and five keywords in both Spanish and English.
- Contact information (ORCID, email, and institutional affiliation).
Editorial Process:
8. All articles will undergo double-blind peer review.
- The journal is open access with no article processing charges (APC) for authors or readers.
Special Issue Timeline:
• Deadline for submission of full manuscripts: May 31, 2026
• Peer review period: June – July 2026
• Notification of decisions to authors (after first review round): Late July 2026
• Deadline for submission of final revised versions: September 2026
• Publication of the Special Issue: November–December 2026
For any inquiries related to this special issue, please contact the guest editor, Francisco Entrena-Durán, at the following email address: fentrena@ugr.es
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¹ Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Public Affairs.
