Refugee agency in secondary mobility decision-making: A systematic literature review

Decisions made by millions of refugees about where to go, how to make a living
and how to secure a future are fundamental drivers of secondary movements.
While a substantial body of literature addresses factors contributing to migrants’
decision-making, a comprehensive understanding of the central role of refugees
in secondary mobility decision-making, including agency and strategies
employed, remains underexplored. This is partly due to the belief that refugees
are constrained by external and structural factors and cannot exercise agency,
which we challenge. This article provides a systematic analysis of the literature
on refugees’ secondary mobility decision-making processes. Using a systematic
literature review (SLR) methodology, it presents an in-depth analysis of 40 peerreviewed, English-language research articles selected from the Web of Science
and Scopus databases published before September 2022. The article critically
examines the drivers, prevailing dichotomies and conceptual frameworks
surrounding refugee categorization, agency, and mobility. By synthesizing a
wide range of literature, our paper presents emerging alternative concepts and
frameworks that shed light on the complex dynamics of decision-making