Guest Editorial Introduction: The uses of islands in the production of the southern European migration border

Abstract

The political uses of islands under the dynamics of EU border production and management are explored in this four-paper collection. Although the island migration model is not unique per se, irregular migration to southern European islands does have some specific features, including the extraordinary media attention it draws. From this perspective, the scientific analyses offered here aim both to show the particular situation that these islands find themselves in within the European policy framework for controlling irregular immigration and, more generally, to illustrate how these island places are like the development of film into photograph, revealing the issues, complexity and stakes particular to undesirable migrations. © 2014 - Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada.