The book is a rich piece of scholarship that makes a contribution at the levels of history
theory and policy and deserves to be widely read and considered. Alexander Betts University
of Oxford The link between migration and development has risen on the agenda of the
international community in recent years and global level dialogues have started. In her book
Saskia Koppenberg gives an in-depth analysis of the Global Forum on Migration and Development
(GFMD) the most important and most widely recognised dialogue. She provides striking insights
into the theories that lie behind the subjects that dominate the GFMD and identifies the
perspectives which have so far been neglected. By investigating which migrants are addressed
what the dominant development approach is how migrants are expected to contribute to
development and who the targeted beneficiaries are Koppenberg makes the GFMD accessible to
the academic and public discourse. With regard to the 2-year assessment process evaluating the
GFMD which is set to conclude by the end of 2012 the study provides valuable recommendations
for the ways in which a more successful and comprehensive GFMD can be attained in the future.
Koppenberg broadens the perspective and takes a look at other global level dialogues beyond the
GFMD. The study includes a comparative analysis of the UNHCR-led dialogue on Targeting
Development Assistance (TDA) which discusses the link between forced migration and
development. This perspective highlights how particular forms of migration and certain kinds of
development dominate the debates while others are left out. It reveals forced migrants have
largely been absent from the GFMD agenda despite the fact that their potential to be agents of
development has been acknowledged. While identifying the differences and commonalities in the
prevalent subjects concepts and theories that link migration and forced migration to
development in these two dialogues a migrant-centred approach is introduced. This guides the
reader's view towards the migrants' own development and their development perspectives while
keeping in mind that in terms of agency vs. structure the migration-development nexus builds
upon the migrants' agency. Based on her study Saskia Koppenberg argues that the traditional
migration and development agenda of the GFMD should be broadened to include marginalised
perspectives and to offer a migrant-centred approach in order to provide a more comprehensive
and effective global level dialogue on migration and development that ensures the migrants'
well-being and leads to the highest possible impact on development.
