CfP ‘Control Gap’ CES Glasgow 2017

Proposal for a Panel or mini-Symposium

The ‘control gap’ in migration policy research. The capacity of the EU and its member states to enforce control

Council for European Studies, 24th International Conference of Europeanists ‘Sustainability and Transformation’ University of Glasgow, UK, July 12-14, 2017

Organizers: Ilke Adam, Christof Roos, Florian Trauner, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Abstract: In the light of the ‘migration crisis’ unfolding in the Mediterranean, the EU and its member states face ever more electoral and public pressure to effectively guard their borders and enforce migration control. This poses highly pertinent questions about the capacity of states and bureaucracies to develop and execute policies that regulate exclusion in a given society or a territory.

The literature on migration control largely focuses on the ‘liberal paradox’, the observation that migration policies regardless of a broader public’s preference for restrictions have become expansive and inclusive. However, for understanding contemporary migration policy it also needs to be assessed how liberal states face and address control within the constraints of human rights norms, open markets, international relations, and limited state resources.

The panel attempts to address the ‘control gap’ in migration policy research by studying the factors that determine the ability of western states to control migration in three core issue areas:

· The capacity of the EU and MS to prevent entry before the border
· The capacity of the EU and MS to control Schengen borders
· The capacity of the EU and MS to enforce return

The panel aims at exploring control in migration policy enforcement. Research with a qualitative or quantitative angle is welcome that speaks to the topic. Please send abstracts of 250 to 300 words to Christof Roos (christof.roos@vub.ac.be) by 30 September 2016. We are looking forward to your submissions.