Information Directed Towards Migrants and the (Un)Making of Borders: An Interdisciplinary Perspective Between Countries of Origin, Transit, and Destination

Abstract

Migration information campaigns and awareness-raising activities are increasingly used by Western governments as a “soft” tool of border enforcement in countries of origin, transit, and destination. Acting upon perceptions and aspirations, these information provision initiatives aim at convincing (potential) migrants to remain in or “voluntarily” return to their country of origin. As they rely on security and humanitarian rationales, they gather heterogenous actors whose practices oscillate between migration control and assistance. Yet, despite their apparently consensual nature, these initiatives bring out conflicting interests and generate contestations on the ground. In this perspective, this SI approaches information as a highly crowded and disputed field to grasp the complexity of power relationships in a restrictive migration context. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective, it investigates the discourses and norms conveyed by governmental initiatives that use information as a tool to control mobilities; the communication strategies defined by state and non-state actors to reach (potential) migrants; and the everyday practices deployed by migrants themselves to navigate this disputed information landscape.