Migration Management Aid and Governance in Recipient Countries

• In Event: New Approaches to MENA Research for COVID-19 and Beyond

Abstract

Since the 1990s and especially following the 2015 European refugee “crisis,” the European Union and its member states have invested billions of euros in migration management programs that purport to promote “good migration governance.” But what is the impact of migration management aid on governance in recipient countries? Because of limitations on fieldwork during the COVID pandemic, we examine data collected from policy and government documents and a CAQDAS-assisted coding scheme to examine all EU-funded migration management projects to four recipient countries—Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya—since 2015. In doing so, this paper seeks to systematically uncover how migration management aid is being used to support or undermine authoritarian and democratic institutions and actors in Global South recipient countries. While migration management aid may build the capacity of states to monitor borders and prevent irregular migration, we argue this aid may also lead to potential negative externalities including human rights abuses and increased surveillance for migrants and citizens alike.

Authors

• Kelsey P. Norman, Rice University

• Nicholas R. Micinski, University of Maine