Advocacy for Migrants in European Transit Zones. Analysing Innovative Strategies for Political Change

A rising number of migrants are ‘stranded’ in so-called ‘transit zones’ across Europe. Most governments try to deter migrants from dwelling in these transit zones, by putting in place a series of repressive policies, e.g. by destroying tents and shelters. This does not deter migrants, but pushes them into ever more destitute living conditions. In response, established NGOs and a variety of grassroots collectives try to pressure governments into changing migrants’ living conditions within these zones and the policies that produce these. This project seeks to investigate these grassroots collectives’ advocacy work within three European transit zones: Brussels, Calais, and the Aegean islands. We examine which advocacy strategies have been used since Europe’s 2015 ‘long summer of migration’ (Kasparek and Speer, 2015) and if and how these strategies correspond to changes in (a) the living conditions of migrants in transit zones and (b) the laws and policies that produce these transit zones. Through a combination of a focused literature study, extensive document analysis, interviews and in-depth case studies, this project will contribute to scholarly debates on the innovative nature of advocacy strategies used by grassroots collectives, and on their possibilities (and limitations) in contributing to political change in contemporary migration policies.

Promotor(s): Prof. Dr. Robin Vandevoordt en Prof. Dr. Ellen Desmet
Researcher(s)/contact: dr. Marlies Casier en Prof. Dr. Robin Vandevoordt
Period: September 2023-Augustus 2026