Migration has become an issue that can decide elections. As a result, the policy of the day is to try to limit the irregular movement of people, a trend of particular prominence in Europe. As such, European governments are increasingly seeking to establish control over routes abroad that see voluntary and forced migrants moving alongside each other (so-called “mixed migration routes”). However, they face a number of challenges and constraints in this pursuit. First, borders are generally porous along transit routes, particularly in fragile and conflict-ridden settings, making them difficult to control. Moreover, refugee and human rights law dictate and limit to what extent and through which means a border can be controlled. Finally, increasing border control can have negative repercussions for regional development and stability, two factors that in themselves greatly influence migration decisions. Capacity building for border management has emerged as a policy that tries to square this circle by making border management more effective while also addressing the protection needs of different migrant groups. However, critics have argued that this is merely another way of externalizing violence by moving border control further away from host countries, thus making migrants even more vulnerable. GPPi partnered with the Danish Refugee Council and the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat in Dakar to shed light on the scope, potential benefits, and risks of capacity building for border management. We focused our study on Mali and Niger, where the northbound flow of mixed migration has turned capacity building for border management into a growth industry. Does capacity building achieve what it promises? Is it as dangerous for migrants as critics claim? And what can donors do to improve these programs?
