Gregorie Dupuis-McDonald markets the claim that human migration is a typical instance of a complex system. Above all, Dupuis-McDonald suggests that a perspective from complex systems science provides a significant gain in descriptive and explanatory power over standard models of migration.

In the first part of the talk, Dupuis-McDonald will analyze self-organization, emergence, and multi-scale structures. In the second part, Dupuis-McDonald will move to the contentious aspect of the research: The proposal is that migration is an evolutionary adaptive strategy in response to ecological constraints. Thus conceived, migration is a dynamical social contest over resources. To be socially efficient, migrants need to create sustainable solutions. Information, learning and fitness are crucial.