Migration policies sometimes have visible effects . The optics of border pushbacks and the ‘scene of exclusion’ receive support from anti-immigration political factions and criticism from civil society and the legal community. Conversely, the ‘scene of rescue’ at national borders provoke broad public attention and humanitarian compassion, while inciting outrage among those resistant to migration. […]

The narratives used by political leaders should bring stability to contested policy spaces. Instead, recent European Union communications risk destabilising counter-smuggling responses by relying on an incomplete set of evidence. As migration rates along the Central and Western Mediterranean routes increase this year relative to 2020, the upcoming release of the EU Action Plan Against […]