This book examines the governance of irregular migration within the European Union today. It critically analyses state power – its reconfiguration through various mechanisms and practices, and its diffusion to multiple bodies, state and non-state. Taking the securitisation of irregular migration as its starting point, this book suggests a more critical approach to the ways in which human mobility is rendered governable in the EU – and by whom. Rather than focusing solely on the policies and how they are exercised, this book looks closely at the ‘governors’: those who construct and implement the policies, from the European Commission to its agencies and power-players, as well as the private companies and IO’s/NGOs currently involved in the management of irregular migration.

This book explores the power dynamics evolved within, and between, the EU and its member states. It will interest scholars and students of migration, ethnicity, citizenship, asylum and refugee studies, across sociology, security studies and politics. It will also appeal to policymakers, practitioners, NGOs and border authorities.