External migration management through information campaigns: street-level views and practices in Senegal

Abstract

The implementation of European-funded migration policies in Senegal involves diverse street-level bureaucrats. Among them are migrant returnees and local migration policy experts who implement migration information campaigns. This article examines how these actors understand and negotiate their roles and their use of discretion during policy implementation. It looks at the content of the (anti-) migration message they share with their compatriots as well as their motivations. The study is based on 26 semi-structured interviews with migrant returnees and local migration policy staff working for international organizations. This research shows that, while local street-level bureaucrats share the migration dissuasion message as conceived by European donors, they do not always embrace it, given the limited available alternatives for securing their livelihood or migrating regularly. Equally conflicting are their rationales for taking on such roles: They wish to support their communities, while aiming at building their career prospects and advancing their own agendas. Therefore, they engage in a form of ‘strategic compliance’. By addressing the power asymmetries occurring between the different parties and showing how actors respond to their superiors, against the historical backdrop of colonization, this study contributes to the field of street-level bureaucracy and the relational approach in the Global South.