New Perspectives on the European Return Regime: Return Policies and Politics

Abstract

As part of the ‘restrictive turn’ in migration policies post-2015, the European Commission and Member States have put considerable efforts into making returns from European states more ‘effective’ – increasing the number of (irregularized) migrants effectively returning to their countries of nationality. Scholars working in the area of return and readmission from Europe have explored the emergence and enactment of ‘voluntary’ and ‘forced’ return programmes on macro and micro levels (De Genova and Peutz 2010, Kanstroom 2012, Vandevoordt 2018, Cleton and Chauvin 2019), the political uses of ‘voluntary return’ (Leerkes et al. 2017) and return decision making (Ataç and Rosenberger 2019, Lietaert 2017). Building on this literature, this double-panel aims to explore current return policies, politics and practices in the European context, and conceptualizes the specificities of a “European Return Regime”. By drawing on the concept of a ‘migration regime’ (De Genova and Peutz 2010), we highlight the multi-faceted nature of immigration enforcement in Europe and extend the focus to all actors and agencies involved in the process of returning ‘unwanted migrants’ This panel sheds light on how within European member states and neighboring countries, the return of unwanted non-citizens is managed and framed. It sheds light on return policy practices within member states, as well as necessary cooperation with third countries. hows how policies at the EU-level highlights how the issue of return is practiced and framed within member states and neighbouring countries. Together, the papers investigate the policies and practices of a variety of actors across geographical spaces, to further understand the social and political responses to ‘unwanted’ and ‘unauthorized migrants’ in Europe.

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Framing Forced Migration in a Changing World: a Content Analysis on the EU Parliamentary Questions	View Paper Details
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