Over 60 scholars warn against conflating migration with biological invasions
Dr Roxana Barbulescu (pictured right) co-leads a new article alongside Dr Josie South (pictured left) to caution against comparing human migration with biological invasions.
A new article has been published entitled ‘Raising concerns on the dangers of linking biological invasions to human migration’ in Ethnic and Racial Studies led by Dr Roxana Barbulescu (School of Sociology and Social Policy) and Dr Josie South (School of Biology). The article brings together over sixty leading scholars from sociology, anthropology, political science, history, ecology, and conservation biology to caution against comparing human migration with biological invasions.
Biological invasions refer to non-native species entering new ecosystems, often resulting in significant environmental or economic impacts. Human migration, by contrast, is shaped by intricate social, political, cultural, and economic dynamics. The authors emphasise that transferring conceptual frameworks from one discipline to another requires careful consideration; sole analogies – such as equating migrants with invasive species – risk portraying people as threats and echoing xenophobic narratives that have historically justified exclusion and discrimination.
Interdisciplinary research gives us the tools to tackle complex problems, But it requires careful attention to each field’s methods, concepts, and ethical implications. Misapplied analogies can do real harm.
say the authors.
By convening one of the largest interdisciplinary teams to date, the authors demonstrate that robust, cross-disciplinary scholarship can illuminate pressing social and ecological issues – without compromising ethical or conceptual integrity.
This collobarative research includes key contributions from colleagues across the University of Leeds:
Faculty of Social Sciences:
- Dr Roxana Barbulescu, Dr Li Sun, Dr Tesfalem Yemane, Ayu Kusumastuti, and Mona Makinejad (School of Sociology and Social Policy)
- Prof. Marie-Andrée Jacob (School of Law)
- Dr James Souter (School of Politics and International Studies)
Faculty of Biological Sciences:
- Dr Josie South, Prof. Alison Dunn, Jonathon David Roberts, and Pip Wilson (School of Biology)
Faculty of Environment:
- Prof. Louise Waite, Dr Deirdre Conlon, Dr Glenda Garelli, Prof. Sara Gonzalez, and Rosa Mas Giralt (School of Geography)
- Prof. George Holmes (School of Earth and Environment)
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures:
- Dr Sam Durrant (School of English)
- Dr Joshua Hobbs
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