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ABSTRACT
This article examines the emergence of a ‘migration industry’ as a result of European border externalisation and security outsourcing practices to curb migration flows from Libya. It argues that the management of migration has been partly delegated to a network of interlinked private and public actors which constitute a complex migration governance structure that ultimately gives rise to issues of transparency and accountability. Informed by theoretical approaches drawn from both Security and Migration Studies, the article offers an empirical analysis of the organisation and logics of the migration industry in a specific context, mapping and analysing the setup of actors, structures and processes that contribute to the security of the Euro-Libyan border. By doing so, it offers important insights into contemporary migration governance in the European context.
Acknowledgments
We wish to express our earnest gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and to Joseph Trawicki Anderson, Anja Karlsson Franck and Darshan Vigneswaran for their invaluable feedback and comments on earlier versions of this text.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The EU justified the total or partial denial of access to documents according to Regulation 1049/2001 on the following grounds: protection of the public interest as regards public security, protection of the public interest as regards international relations, commercial interests of a natural or legal person, protection of the privacy and integrity of the individual. In particular we received the following explanation: ‘Some of the documents identified, or parts thereof, contain concrete information whose disclosure would put at risk not only staff, partners and contractors but also project target groups […] The full public disclosure of the documents would severely affect the international relations between the EU and the Libyan authorities, given the content of the documents which provide insight into relevant actors’ involvement and decision-making on the ground […] Disclosing such documents, which were not designed for external communications purposes, might lead to misunderstandings and/or misrepresentations regarding the nature of the EU-funded activities in Libya’. At the Italian level, the total of partial denial of access to documents was justified by claiming that documents that concern international relations and police cooperation with third countries cannot be made public and are not subjected to transparency requirements, as they might jeopardise relations with Libya and the EU (D.Lgs 33/2013, Legge 241/1990, D.M. 415/1994). We appealed this decision to the Transparency and anti-Corruption Department of the Ministry of Interior, which nevertheless confirmed the denial.
11 Document released by the MoI to ASGI in 2019 and obtained by email on April 2020.
14 For instance, the majority of disclosed calls for bids to cooperate with the Libyan authorities to ‘combat illegal migration’ have been awarded to Cantiere Navale Vittoria. See for instance: https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175af41df132993583695306; https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175a5cd6f53075d747192469; https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175e566c0bd9b8c105097434; and https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/1621596de2c09d184096733536 for the reparation of some vessels; https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175af44149be401619474581; https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175b1575b1e41c1724987231; for the transportation of repaired vessels from Tunisia to Libya; https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/15175b157297de991651355303 for the training of the Libyan Coast Guards.
15 https://altreconomia.it/litalia-ripara-altre-tre-motovedette-delle-milizie-costiere-della-libia-per-fermare-i-migranti/ and https://www.poliziadistato.it/statics/28/determina-servizio-conduzione.pdf.
18 See: https://eutf.akvoapp.org/, accessed 15 April, 2021.