Managing a Multiplicity of Interests

Melissa Phillips

doi:10.3167/arms.2020.111407

Abstract

Libya is a significant transit country for irregular migration to Europe and is therefore the site of much effort by external policy makers, notably the European Union. External actors have been unable to formalize workable agreements with Libyan authorities to address or stop onward migration to Europe. Instead, they have been forced to develop arrangements with Libya’s neighboring countries to work around this impasse. This article examines the rhetoric behind efforts by individual European countries and the European Union to implement externally produced migration policies. From crisis narratives to invoking a humanitarian imperative to “save lives,” it is argued that these tropes justify various, at times competing, agendas. This results in almost no tangible improvement to the situation of irregular migrants or the capacity of authorities to deal with irregular migration, with one exception being that of the Libyan coast guard.

Highlights

Irregular migration and the false perception that it constitutes a “threat,” mainly to citizens in the global North, continues to be a matter of public attention and governmental policy interest in many corners of the globe (Andersson 2016a)
First is Libya’s own internal migration system, which is based on a strong domestic political economy of smuggling, a wider ambivalence toward irregular migration out of the country, and an acceptance that irregular migrants inside the country provide labor
The second system is a migration management approach promoted at an EU-wide level, which emphasizes technological, financial, political, and security components

Summary

Introduction

Irregular migration and the false perception that it constitutes a “threat,” mainly to citizens in the global North, continues to be a matter of public attention and governmental policy interest in many corners of the globe (Andersson 2016a). This article investigates the way in which these threats are dealt with by external actors using the Central Mediterranean route as an example, focusing on Libya as a transit country and departure point for irregular migration to Europe It draws on desk-based research, policy analysis, and interviews with two Libyan employees of civil society organizations working in Libya on migration.. Authorities and a wide range of other interests, including nonstate actors, tribal groups, militias, and, to a certain extent, the local population, who all benefit from irregular migration in one way or another This leads to a situation of passive acceptance of the status quo and an ambivalence about for change in a context with many other pressing demands.

A Cacophony of Irregular Migration Agendas

Findings

Geneva