New Chapter: The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region

Delighted to be included in a great ISPI monograph: ‘The Cost of “Non-Maghreb”: Unpacking the Political and Economic Costs of Disunion and Divisions.’

My chapter, titled ‘The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region,’ focuses on clandestine flows connecting the Sahel and Maghreb. It traces current dynamics around the smuggling of commodities, drugs and arms, and the movement of migrants, terrorists and mercenaries.

The chapter next turns to the structural factors which impede efforts by Maghrebi and Sahelien states to address these flows, including the structure of illicit markets, limited intra-state coordination, the growth of uncontrolled territories, and poor state relations with border communities.

The chapter ends with a brief set of policy recommendations. It can be accessed here.

New Report: The Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe and the Maghreb

I'm delighted to announce the publication of my new report, 'The Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe and the Maghreb.'

Written for the Migration Policy Institute’s Transatlantic Council on Migration, the report examines the border security situation within the Maghreb and the efforts of the European Union and its member states to address challenges stemming from a complex migration picture and differing perspectives and policy priorities of Maghrebi and European policymakers. It offers lessons and recommendations as Europe commits new resources to build Maghrebi state capacity to reduce irregular migration and address border security challenges such as transnational terrorism and human, arms and drug smuggling.

A PDF of the report is attached and can also be accessed here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/border-management-europe-maghreb.

Report launch: Divided They Fall: Frontiers, borderlands and stability in North Africa

Excited to launch my new report, "Divided They Fall: Frontiers, borderlands and stability in North Africa", written with Max Gallien.

The report looks at smuggling and Maghrebi states, the change in border security approaches, and the impact of such changes on borderland communities and informal and illicit markets.

The report is available here.

At the edge: Trends and routes of North African clandestine migrants

From The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. The Publication Can be Accessed Here.

Jointly with the Institute for Security Studies, the Global Initiative published At the edge (Nov 2016) as part of a research project on human smuggling from Africa to Europe, funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF). Our research team sat down with smugglers themselves in Libya, Turkey, in the Sahel and in Sub-Saharan Africa to understand who are the smugglers behind Europe’s migration crisis, to understand how they operate, what drew them into the trade, and how they are responding to international community efforts to end illicit migration.

In 2015, over 16,000 Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans were caught while attempting to migrate to Europe covertly. Though North Africans are a relatively small portion of the masses of clandestine migrants, they are a critical group to understand. They are the innovators and early adaptors of new methods and routes for migrant smuggling, such as their pioneering in the 1990s and 2000s of the routes across the Mediterranean that now fuel Europe’s migration crisis. Understanding how and why North Africans migrate, the routes they use, and how these are changing, offers insights into how clandestine migration methods and routes in general may shift in the coming years. In shaping better responses to actual dynamics, it is important for countries to proactively address the chronic conditions that drive forced migration before they generate social instability.