Human smugglers or criminalised migrants? Securitarian bordering and the criminalisation of ‘captains’ in the Mediterranean

Article


Papadouka, M.E., Montagna, N. and Serrantino, G. 2024. Human smugglers or criminalised migrants? Securitarian bordering and the criminalisation of ‘captains’ in the Mediterranean. Trends in Organized Crime. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-024-09553-1
TypeArticle
TitleHuman smugglers or criminalised migrants? Securitarian bordering and the criminalisation of ‘captains’ in the Mediterranean
AuthorsPapadouka, M.E., Montagna, N. and Serrantino, G.
Abstract

Smuggling industry plays a key role in the international migratory processes; it is a world-wide and often misunderstood phenomenon which operates in a multiplicity of spaces and at different stages: at the beginning of the ‘journey’ and along the route, when migrants need to rely on supporting networks to cross borders and continue their journey. This industry also operates in a concatenation of loops involving different actors, which include migrants who pilot the small boats transporting migrants across the sea. Although these migrants are not formally affiliated with the smuggling organizations, they find themselves unwittingly drawn into the activity, compelled to operate the boats ferrying migrants at sea and consequently facing criminalization processes. Focusing on the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea routes and drawing insights from 22 in-depth qualitative interviews with key informants based in Greece and Sicily, this paper seeks to enrich the existing body of knowledge concerning border securitization and the intersection of immigration control with criminal justice, often referred to as 'crimmigration'. The merging of criminal law and migration law prompts an inquiry into whether the prosecution of people who steer the boats carrying unauthorised migrants across the Mediterranean serves to combat human smuggling or rather as an avenue to criminalise migration itself. The article’s central argument posits that ‘captains’, instead of being integral members of organised human smuggling networks, represent only a small aspect of migratory dynamics. They are vulnerable targets whose criminalization is indicative of a wider process of securitization in border control.

KeywordsCrimmigration; Human smuggling; Securitization; Bordering; Undocumented migration
Sustainable Development Goals16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
Middlesex University ThemeHealth & Wellbeing
PublisherSpringer
JournalTrends in Organized Crime
ISSN1084-4791
Electronic1936-4830
Publication dates
Online11 Nov 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted29 Sep 2024
Deposited21 Nov 2024
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12117-024-09553-1

Additional information

The submitted version paper had the name of the first author incorrectly put as Myrna (instead of MARIA EIRINI). The name was then corrected via the last pre-publication edits.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-024-09553-1
Web of Science identifierWOS:001352521100001
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/1wvvy3

Restricted files

Accepted author manuscript

  • 12
    total views
  • 3
    total downloads
  • 6
    views this month
  • 1
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Factors influencing burglary and home security measures in England and Wales
Bankiewicz, U. and Papadouka, M. 2024. Factors influencing burglary and home security measures in England and Wales. European Journal of Criminology. 21 (2), pp. 274-300. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708231182777
Uncovering trends in human trafficking and migrant smuggling activities: a natural language processing approach to UNODC SHERLOC database
Papadouka, M. 2023. Uncovering trends in human trafficking and migrant smuggling activities: a natural language processing approach to UNODC SHERLOC database. Antigone. 3 (5), pp. 8-34.
From the First to the Second Italian Republic in Catania (Sicily): politics, economy and society between cosmetic changes and deep continuities
Serrantino, G. 2021. From the First to the Second Italian Republic in Catania (Sicily): politics, economy and society between cosmetic changes and deep continuities. PhD thesis Middlesex University Business and Law
Organised crime and illicit trade in Europe [Conference Report]
Papadouka, M. and Haenlein, C. 2017. Organised crime and illicit trade in Europe [Conference Report]. The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
Agenda setting and active audiences in online coverage of human trafficking
Papadouka, M., Evangelopoulos, N. and Ignatow, G. 2016. Agenda setting and active audiences in online coverage of human trafficking. Information, Communication and Society. 19 (5), pp. 655-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1139615