Making (in)formality work in a multi-scalar European border regime

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Law
• Migration Studies
• Political Science

Background:

• European migration control aims for orderly and safe migration but often produces the opposite.
• High levels of regulation and contestation characterize border policies like the Dublin III Regulation and readmission agreements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of informality in enabling control and producing order within the European migration control regime.
• To examine how informal practices facilitate the implementation of formal regulations in migration policy.

Main Methods:

• Ethnographic research conducted in Swedish and Swiss migration control agencies between 2015 and 2018.
• Analysis of the implementation of the Dublin III Regulation and transnational negotiations on readmission agreements.

Main Results:

• Informality is central to making formal migration regulations 'work' in practice.
• The Dublin Regulation requires tacit toleration of informality for enforcement.
• Readmission agreements depend on informal transnational politics that disregard migration law and migrant rights.

Conclusions:

• The European migration control regime is not inherently 'orderly'; it functions through informality.
• Informal practices in migration control often occur to the detriment of migrants' rights and lives.
• Debunking the myth of an orderly migration control system is crucial for understanding its actual operation.