Trends in Organized Crime, Smuggling, and International Security.
My latest article for the Institute for Security Studies, I look at what should be done around security sector reform and stabilization Libya after the current fighting ebbs. The groundwork should be laid for a more effective strategy than what the country has seen to date. This means asking the right questions, checking fundamental assumptions, and building consensus between the different local and international stakeholders.
The full article can be accessed here.
I'm delighted to launch my latest report for the Institute for Security Studies: ‘La mal vie’: The routes, drivers and politics of North African irregular migration.
The report details the routes and methods employed by North African irregular migrants to get to Europe, the factors driving and enabling increased migration, and the responses by North African and European governments. It ends with a short set of policy recommendations.
It can be accessed here.
Between 2015 and 2018, 110,803 irregular migrants from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya were apprehended at sea or in littoral areas by EU nations, western Balkan states, Algeria, and Tunisia. 74,713 of the apprehensions took place in 2017 and 2018, underscoring the rapid escalation of the Maghrebi migration trend.
Over the last several years I've conducted several cross-regional research projects on North African irregular migration, looking at drivers and the routes and means used by the migrants to get to Europe. Another project is underway, with results to be released in the Spring of 2019.
In advance of that, this post offers some recent reports, articles, commentary, and media interviews I've done on the subject.
Reports, Commentary, and Graphics
“‘La Mal Vie’: The Routes, Drivers, and Politics of North African Irregular Migration,” Report, Institute for Security Studies (May 2019).
“Less than the sum of its parts: Europe’s fixation with Libyan border security,” Policy Brief, Institute for Security Studies (May 2019).
“Social media bridges North Africa’s divides to facilitate migration,” ISS Today, Institute for Security Studies. Co-authored with Amine Ghoulidi (March 2019).
“Algeria’s protests and migration: the fearmongers have it wrong,” ISS Today, Institute for Security Studies. Co-authored with Sofian Philip Naceur (March 2019).
“AU summit 32: Maghreb’s changing politics of migration,” ISS Today, Institute for Security Studies (February 2019).
"Tunisia isn’t a migrant transit country – yet," ISS Today, Institute for Security Studies. Co-authored with Max Gallien (August 2018).
“Irregular Migrants & Facilitators Intercepted by Tunisian MOI & MOD (June 2017 - June 2018),” La Línea, (June 12, 2018).
“The Top Refugee Issues to Watch in 2018,” Refugees Deeply (January 12, 2018).
“Out of the Streets and Into the Boats: Tunisia’s Irregular Migration Surge,” MENASource, The Atlantic Council. Co-Authored with Max Gallien (November 2017).
“At the Edge: Trends and Routes of North African Clandestine Migrants,” Report, Institute for Security Studies and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (November 2016).
Interviews & Media Commentary
Naiara Galarraga Gortázar, “Italia también patrulla el Estrecho,” El Pais, 03 September 2018.
Agence Presse France, “Tunisie: arrestation de 50 candidats à l’émigration clandestine,” 11 February 2018.
Agenzia Nova, “Immigrazione: boom di nordafricani in Italia nel 2017, oltre 15 mila ingressi nel 2017,” 12 January 2018.
Sofian Philip Naceur, “Jagd auf Migranten,” Junge Welt, 10 October 2017.
Alan Clendenning and Vanessa Gera, “Rubber dinghies, old fishing boats feed Europe migrant rush,” Associated Press, 23 April 2015.
My latest article from the Institute for Security Studies looks at the 27 June terrorist bombings in Tunis, analyzes the larger security challenges facing the country, and argues that the state and donors need to reemphasize whole of government approaches to the problem, and not double down on a security-first strategy.
It can be accessed here.
