Reconfiguring the spatiality of power: the construction of a supranational migration framework for the European Union

Abstract

This paper examines the construction of a supranational framework for immigration control for the European Union since the mid-1980s and its implications for national sovereignty, for EU membership and for migrants. As in the case of European integration more generally, this construction process has been highly contested, involving numerous negotiations, tensions and struggles among different political actors situating themselves and operating at different geographic scales. Contestation occurred over three issues in particular: first, over where power and authority should be located—at which geographic scale and in which institutions; second, over geographic scope—the territorial extent of the framework; and third, over the principles according to which power and authority should be exercised—over divergent visions of justice and democratic accountability. Examination of the cacophony of intergovernmental institutional arrangements and agreements on immigration matters suggests that power over the immigration of non-EU nationals remains in the hands of nation-states, with supranational policies materializing only when they are seen as consistent with national interests. An analysis of the tensions and struggles between different state and non-state actors concerning the rights of current and potential non-EU immigrants reveals contrasting visions of justice and democratic accountability. Juxtaposed to the exclusionary policies promoted by national government representatives and right-wing nationalist parties are calls by transnational nongovernmental organizations for more inclusionary policies encompassing the protection of human rights of immigrants and their representation in the democratic process.