A migrant “hot potato” system: The transit camp and urban integration in a bridge society

Abstract

ABSTRACT The literature on migrant camps around urban spaces has concentrated on permanent, long-term camps in destination societies. Yet the 2014–2017 Middle Eastern refugee crisis in Europe demonstrated the centrality of transit camps in bridge countries for urban integration and the lack thereof. This article presents results of fieldwork from the Preševo migrant center near the Macedonia–Serbia border in January 2016 and from migrant camps across the country since. In a model bridge society, Preševo was the largest refugee camp on the Balkan route. Drawing on interviews with migrants, camp officials, experts, nongovernmental organization (NGO) and government representatives, I argue that transit camp operations are characterized by a “hot potato” system that thwarted urban integration by emphasizing hectic processing, bypassing cities, and urgent transportation of migrants off sovereign territory. I conclude with preliminary implications for the role of transit camps for urban integration more generally.