This seminar is organised as part of the ‘Revisiting Interdisciplinary Migration Studies’ seminar series hosted by Dr. Nora Stel and organized for the NWO-Veni project ‘The Power of Inaction and Ambivalence in Transnational Refugee Governance.
In recent years, deportations of ‘irregularised migrants’ have become a central and highly politicised issue in public discourse across the globe. Deportation is increasingly depicted as the solution to domestic challenges such as public security and unemployment, serving as a symbol of the state’s authority over border controls. Populist and radical right parties play a significant role in maintaining such emotionally charged rhetoric, resulting in anti-migrant public attitudes that lead other parties to adopt more pro-deportation stances as well. The effect of this rhetoric is an increase in current deportation enforcements as well as attempts to negotiate ‘deportation deals’ with transit, origin, and third countries. This lecture discusses the drivers and implications of this deportation turn as well as the counter narratives and practices of civil society actors and migrants to better understand how migration governance is affected by ongoing domestic and geopolitical developments.