Blog posts

Rather than fostering security, restrictive measures such as the criminalisation of migration create a vicious cycle of insecurity and irregularity. So why do states increasingly turn to these measures? 

(Australian Institute of International Affairs, 14 November 2024).

Italy's recent deal with Albania and the UK's Rwanda scheme show the importance of external agreements to the migration policies of European states. But how does this external dimension function in practice? Drawing on new research, we identify the key tools used by EU member states to implement these policies.

(LSE EUROPP Blog, 17 September 2024).

The devastating war in Ukraine has transformed our understanding of conflict in the 21st Century. Drawing from a new set of studies, in this piece my colleagues and I argue that the war has had deep and complex effects affecting human life, human development, economies, values and attitudes, policy and governance, and power distribution and relations around the world. Each of these layers have scope to feedback on one another. Such feedback loops may in turn affect the evolution of conflict and the possibility of its resolution in the future.

(E-International Relations, 14 August 2024).

The UK Prime Minister has claimed the Rwanda plan will act as a deterrent. But is this the case? I draw from my research on deterrence policies in Europe, to see how effective the strategy will be. 

(The Conversation, 29 April 2024).

Today, 70% of refugees are hosted in countries neighbouring where the people flee from.  These are most often developing countries. While a few countries take most of the responsibility for refugees, many others shun cooperation. In this piece, I look at what can be done to incentivise better responsibility-sharing.

(The Conversation, 11 April 2024).

In the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU gave temporary protection rights to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and suspended a visa facilitation agreement with Russia. In this blog, I write that the response to the conflict illustrates the importance of migration policies for the EU’s soft power.

(LSE EUROPP Blog, 15 March 2024).

The Government’s rhetoric on curbing immigration, and “stopping the small boats” in particular, has strong echoes of the Brexit campaign. As Cristina Juverdeanu and I point out, the same themes, keywords, and even graphics are being used by the Government that were originally used by Brexit campaigners. The only difference is, this time the campaign doesn’t seem to be working.

(LSE British Politics & Policy Blog, 12 February 2024).

In March 2023, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced a new “Illegal Immigration Bill”. Aiming to stop migrants from arriving to the UK in small boats, the bill creates a legal duty to remove all migrants arriving irregularly on British territory and bans them from applying for asylum there. How feasible is the plan? Can the UK return all migrants arriving by small boats? Our answer, in short, is most likely not. Three challenges stand in its way: the lack of return agreements, the stalling Rwanda plan, and the practical difficulties and costs involved in returning migrants. 

(LSE British Politics & Policy Blog, 28 March 2023).

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared in autumn 2023 that her migration policies will see a change of paradigm. This will be based on deterrence, seemingly drawing from the UK's migration policies. But what is deterrence? More importantly, is it an effective strategy to reduce migration? I discuss all this, in relation to the latest government's reforms. 

(In Italian - Il Mulino, 24 October 2023).

I was invited by the LSE Review of Books to answer some questions about my latest book. Here is a sneak peak of the questions I was asked: Why is it such a timely moment to consider the impact and effectiveness of the criminalisation of irregular migration in Europe? Why do you argue that criminalisation was ineffective in Italy and France? What are some of the “vicious cycles” provoked by the criminalisation of irregular migration? What alternative approaches might we consider instead? 

(LSE Blogs, 4 October 2023).