Rational Actors, Passive and Helpless Victims, Neither, Both: EU Borders and the Drive to Migrate in the Horn of Africa

This article argues that neither borders nor the ways in which migrants see them constitute significant deterrents to the migrants’ resolve to migrate. The argument is based on an investigation of migrants en route to Europe from the Horn of Africa and the ways in which they see EU external borders and how that contributes to the decision to migrate. The article advances critiques of rational choice models of migrant decision-making that are based mainly on economic factors and contributes to theoretical explanations of why some people in the Horn of Africa migrate irregularly, despite measures enforced by state authorities to curb their movement. The article draws on a qualitative thematic analysis of personal face-to-face interviews conducted with migrants from four countries in the Horn of Africa who were in Ethiopia at the time of the research. In the interviews, there was sufficient evidence that migrants had realistic perceptions of European borders and that life in Europe might not be rosy. But this did not dampen the resolve to migrate. Solutions other than those that inhibit movement but understand, are sensitive to and include the perceptions of migrants are more likely to effectively address challenges associated with irregular migration

The will to integrate : South Africa’s responses to regional migration from the SADC region

This paper surveys frameworks of labour migration in southern Africa and determines South Africa’s policy responses to inflows of migrants from seven neighbouring countries. Legislations, policy reports and scientific publications on migration were thoroughly reviewed and interviews and correspondence with key policymakers were conducted. Statistical analyses of data on foreign worker recruitments and permits issued by South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs were also performed. The absence of a migration protocol in southern Africa suggests SADC Members have not implemented the African Union’s migration policy basic guidelines. Two systems coexist in southern Africa that complicate migration governance: a South Africa‐managed bilateral migration policy, and aspirations for a formal SADC‐managed migration policy. Bilateral agreements between South Africa and neighbours have established a labour migration system that dims prospects for a regional migration policy. SACU Members could establish a two‐tier policy to achieve free movement while maintaining managed migration policy outside SACU. An official multilateral migration governance mechanism would serve SADC better than the current ad‐hoc measures.The European Union, in the framework of the EU‐South Africa Dialogue Facility (EuropeAid/132200/L/ACT/ZA), funded part of the research.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-8268am201

Borders, informal cross-border economies and regional integration in Africa : an introduction

As multi-faceted institutions, borders have a bearing on continental integration in Africa. This is because they have an influence on who and what moves from one country to another. In this sense, any discussion of continental integration in Africa brings borders to the centre stage, because, while integration assumes the free flow of the factors of production, including people, borders sift and select who or what has the freedom of passage or not. This selectivity of African borders is antithetical to the goals and aspirations of the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (hereafter, the Abuja Treaty). The same is true for Agenda 2063, the African Union’s (AU) strategic framework designed to socio-economically transform Africa over the next half century. Automatic beneficiaries of the selective impact of borders are the so-called state actors and formal institutions and enterprises, which assume legal personhood; while their counterparts, the informal actors including informal cross-border traders, must always negotiate the border. T his brings to the fore the nature, logic and operationalisation of regional and continental integration in Africa. In this context, we are led to ask whether the informal actors and people at the grassroots, such as cross-border traders, are an objective reality at African borders, as well as to reflect on their role and actual or potential efficacy in the continental integration project. First, however, there is a need to define and clarify the concepts that drive the papers in this special issue of Africa Insight. These concepts are borders, the informal economy and informal activities, and regional integration. Borders are not just lines at the margins of nation-states, but also social and political institutions. This means that, beyond playing the ordinary role of managing migration and immigration, borders perform social and political functions that may not always be located at the physical border. The articles in this special issue tease out various and nuanced understandings of the term ‘border’ in relation to Africa and the journey towards regional integration. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba, for instance, perceives the border as an arbitrary and artificial site of economic flows, which is essentially political, social, spatial and economic in construction. Flows are indeed evident at the border, as it marks the limits of national territory and controls the movement of people and flow of goods. For Inocent Moyo, the border is multifaceted, consisting of many and dynamic practices. Christopher Nshimbi picks up on this dynamic feature of the border, and adds to it the interrelations of inclusion and exclusion or inside/outside relations. This brings the conception full circle – from the border being a site of economic or human flow, to its marking of the limits of national territory. By logical extension, we then come back to borders not only being a site of flow, representing openness, but also a site of control of flow or movement, representing closure.http://www.ajol.info/index.php/aiam2019Political Science

(Ir)relevant doctrines and African realities: neoliberal and Marxist influences on labour migration governance in Southern Africa

Southern Africa has a long and complex history of migration. This article argues that overall, the mechanisms for governing migration and the practice of migration in the region ignore prevailing theoretical and ideological influences. Instead, Southern Africa operates on an age-long labour migration governance system predicated on private capital. The article qualitatively analyses scholarly literature, migration policy and legislation, and data from interviews with relevant stakeholders. Southern Africa could benefit more from favourably governing migration at the regional rather than the national level. This is consistent with the African Union’s preferred approach to integrating Africa. Also, sociocultural traits in borderland communities of neighbouring Southern African countries tend to be shared and traverse state borders.European Commission.https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ctwq202023-10-28hj2023Political Science

SDGs and decentralizing water management for transformation : normative policy coherence for water security in SADC river basin organizations

This article was originally presented at the “Multidisciplinary Ethnographies of Power in Cross-Border Sustainable Development and Environmental Security Cases” workshop, sponsored by the Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional Integration and Social Cohesion (RISC), at the University of Helsinki, Finland (6–7 October 2016). It was subsequently presented at the 17th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management, Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC), Botswana (26–28 October 2016).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pcehj2020Political Science

Issues in African Informality: What is the Relevance for Regional or Continental Integration?

This paper illuminates the disputed and often tainted reality of informality in Africa, focusing on two key components of the informal economy –  employment and production. Simultaneously, it highlights three key issues in informality that bear on regional integration by the way they relate to spatial borders. The paper draws on a thorough review of the literature and documentary evidence on informality, borders and regional integration. The evidence shows that, though difficult to assess, the informal economy is a permanent African reality that dates back to the Iron Age. It is a source of employment for many, sustains livelihoods and contributes to local, national and regional economies, as well as to regional economic  integration from the bottom up. On their part, nationstate borders in Africa posture as regulators of movement, presenting severe restrictions; especially to the movement of undocumented labour migrants and informal traders. With supportive policies, however, cross-border traders could become useful partners of the state and the collective goal of African integration. They could help deepen integration by participating in measures designed to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade. Since grassroots actors suffer abuse and are ill-treated at borders and in host countries, and lack access to social protection, African borders should be transformed into functional bridges that link communities straddling proximate states. A desirable outcome would be to establish amorphous borderlands that would enhance economic, social and cultural integration

Issues in African informality what is the relevance for regional or continental integration?

This paper illuminates the disputed and often tainted reality of informality in Africa, focusing on two key components of the informal economy – employment and production. Simultaneously, it highlights three key issues in informality that bear on regional integration by the way they relate to spatial borders. The paper draws on a thorough review of the literature and documentary evidence on informality, borders and regional integration. The evidence shows that, though difficult to assess, the informal economy is a permanent African reality that dates back to the Iron Age. It is a source of employment for many, sustains livelihoods and contributes to local, national and regional economies, as well as to regional economic integration from the bottom up. On their part, nationstate borders in Africa posture as regulators of movement, presenting severe restrictions; especially to the movement of undocumented labour migrants and informal traders. With supportive policies, however, cross-border traders could become useful partners of the state and the collective goal of African integration. They could help deepen integration by participating in measures designed to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade. Since grassroots actors suffer abuse and are ill-treated at borders and in host countries, and lack access to social protection, African borders should be transformed into functional bridges that link communities straddling proximate states. A desirable outcome would be to establish amorphous borderlands that would enhance economic, social and cultural integration.http://www.ajol.info/index.php/aiam2019Political Science