The data collected in the Transnational Perspectives on Migration and Integration (TRANSMIT) project include both (potential) migrants and the non-migrant population in countries of origin and transit as well as in Germany, thus enabling comprehensive cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the interaction of migration and integration processes.
The data have been used by the many researchers involved in TRANSMIT to address a variety of different research questions and topics. At the MZES, we are mainly interested in questions related to discrimination (e.g. based on ethnicity, gender, or religion) and social transnational networks (including social cohesion). In this context, we have also investigated the determinants (and their dynamics) of the migration intentions of Syrians and Lebanese. Methodologically, we are primarily interested in testing innovative survey methods that allow us to survey the same individuals (as well as members of these individuals' networks) repeatedly along a migration route.
So far, we have conducted waves of surveys in Lebanon and Turkey—both among the local population and among Syrian migrants. At the MZES, we have taken the lead in conducting a "forward sampling" among Syrians as a methodological test. The data sets have already been processed, and analyses are being carried out.
Central results of the TRANSMIT project at the MZES show how social cohesion and discrimination influence the migration intentions of Syrians and Lebanese in Lebanon. The following aspects should be mentioned: (I.) The higher the social cohesion, the higher the probability that immigrants will stay in the country. (II) If immigrants experience ethnic discrimination, they are more likely to want to leave a country. High social cohesion reinforces this effect. (III.) The effect of social cohesion on migration is ambivalent. This is because social cohesion can reinforce exclusionary mechanisms such as discrimination. Furthermore, forward sampling analyses show exciting results, for example that a large proportion of the Syrians surveyed migrated from Lebanon back to Syria (and not further "forward", e.g. to Europe). This shows that this method of data collection is capable of mapping important (and sometimes unexpected) developments in migration movements.
