Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-h6jzd Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2025-02-16T21:44:00.781Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Human smuggling across Niger: state-sponsored protection rackets and contradictory security imperatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2018

Luca Raineri
Luca Raineri*
Affiliation:
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In recent years, Niger has gained prominence as a hub for the smuggling of migrants from West Africa to North Africa and Europe. Urged on by European concerns, Niamey has adopted repressive measures to contain such migrations in the region. These, however, have largely failed, and have yielded unintended and unexpected results, which challenge policy predictions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the article suggests that contradictory security imperatives have brought about the de facto regularisation of human smuggling. As a result, protection rackets sponsored by the state through patronage networks have severely limited the impact of externally sponsored measures to counteract irregular migration.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 63 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adler-Nissen, R. 2015. ‘What's the theory in International Practice Theory?’, International Studies Quarterly Online. <http://www.isanet.org/Publications/ISQ/Posts/ID/4959/Whats-the-Theory-in-International-Practice-Theory>, accessed February 2017., accessed February 2017.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Adler-Nissen,+R.+2015.+‘What's+the+theory+in+International+Practice+Theory?’,+International+Studies+Quarterly+Online.+,+accessed+February+2017.>Google Scholar
Andersson, R. 2014. Illegality, Inc.: clandestine migration and the business of bordering Europe. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Andreas, P. & Nadelmann, E.. 2006. Policing the Globe: criminalization and crime control in international relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Arnaud, C. 2016. ‘Jeunesses sahéliennes: dynamiques d'exclusion, moyens d'insertion’, AFD Notes Techniques 15. Paris, March.Google Scholar
Brachet, J., Choplin, A. & Pliez, O.. 2011. ‘Le Sahara entre espace de circulation et frontière migratoire de l'Europe’, Hérodote 142, 6: 163–82.Google Scholar
Buzan, B., Wæver, O. & de Wilde, J.. 1998. Security: a new framework for analysis. London: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Campana, P. 2017. ‘The market for human smuggling into Europe: a macro perspective’, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, doi: 10.1093/police/paw058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Claudot-Hawad, H. 2008. ‘Un territoire bâti comme une tente nomade’, Réfractions 21, 1: 51–60.Google Scholar
Council of the European Union. 2003. European Security Strategy. A secure Europe in a better world. Brussels, December.Google Scholar
Council of the European Union. 2015. Special meeting of the European Council – Statement. Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Council meeting. Brussels, 23 April.Google Scholar
Danish Demining Group. 2014. Evaluations des Risques Sécuritaires aux Frontières. Région du Liptako-Gourma: Mali, Burkina et Niger. Copenhagen, July.Google Scholar
Danish Refugee Council (DRC). 2016. Forgotten fatalities: the number of migrants’ deaths before reaching the Mediterranean. Mixed Migration Monitoring Mechanism Initiative. Copenhagen, June.Google Scholar
Ellis, S. 2009. ‘West Africa's International Drug Trade’, African Affairs 108, 431: 171–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El Kamouni-Janssen, F. 2017. Only God can stop the smugglers. Understanding human smuggling networks in Libya. Clingendael Report. Den Haag, February.Google Scholar
Frontex. 2017. Central Mediterranean Route <http://frontex.europa.eu/trends-and-routes/central-mediterranean-route/>, accessed March 2017.,+accessed+March+2017.>Google Scholar
Grégoire, E. 2013. ‘Islamistes et rebelles touaregs maliens : alliances, rivalités et ruptures’, EchoGéo <http://echogeo.revues.org/13466>, accessed July 2016.,+accessed+July+2016.>Google Scholar
Il Sole 24 Ore . 2017. ‘Migranti: 5mila salvati, sbarchi a quota 73mila (+14%)’. 27.6.2017.Google Scholar
International Crisis Group. 2017. Le Niger face à Boko Haram: au-delà de la contre-insurrection. Rapport Afrique 245. Dakar: ICG.Google Scholar
International Organization of Migration. 2014. Fatal Journey: tracking lives lost during migration. Geneva: IOM.Google Scholar
International Organization of Migration. 2016 a. Analysis: flow monitoring surveys the human trafficking and other exploitative practices prevalence. Reporting Period: May 2016 – September 2016. Geneva: IOM.Google Scholar
International Organization of Migration. 2016 b. Compilation of Available Data and Information. Mixed Migration Flows in the Mediterranean and Beyond. Geneva: IOM.Google Scholar
Kohl, I. 2013. ‘Afrod, le business touareg avec la frontière : nouvelles conditions et nouveaux défis’, Politique Africaine 132: 139–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, D. 2014. ‘Special Report: despite deaths, crackdown, Sahara migrant trail thrives’, Reuters, 15.5.2014.Google Scholar
Makarenko, T. 2004. ‘The crime-terror continuum: tracing the interplay between transnational organised crime and terrorism’, Global Crime 6, 1: 129–45.Google Scholar
Malakooti, A., Benattia, T. & Armitano, F.. 2015. Irregular Migration Between West Africa, North Africa and the Mediterranean. Paris-Abuja: Altai Consulting.Google Scholar
Ministero dell'Interno. 2016. Statistiche e documentazione anni 1990–2016. Dipartimento Immigrazione, <http://www.libertaciviliimmigrazione.interno.it/dipim/export/sites/default/it/assets/statistiche/2013_10_14_Quaderno_statistico_per_gli_anni_1990_-_2014_-.pdf>, accessed August 2016., accessed August 2016.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ministero+dell'Interno.+2016.+Statistiche+e+documentazione+anni+1990–2016.+Dipartimento+Immigrazione,+,+accessed+August+2016.>Google Scholar
Molenaar, F. 2017. Irregular migration and human smuggling networks in Niger. Clingendael Report. The Hague: February 2017.Google Scholar
Olivier de Sardan, J.-P. 2015. ‘Les quatre prisons du pouvoir au Niger’, Le Républicain, 31.12.2015.Google Scholar
Polese, A., Russo, A. & Strazzari, F.. 2018. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: exploring boundaries between the informal, the criminal and the immoral. London: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Raineri, L. 2015. Il Miracolo della Pax Mafiosa in Niger. Limes 12, 2015: 83–94.Google Scholar
Reitano, T. 2015. ‘A perilous but profitable crossing: the changing nature of migrant smuggling through sub-Saharan Africa to Europe and EU migration policy (2012–2015)’, European Review of Organised Crime 2, 1: 1–23.Google Scholar
Reitano, T. & Shaw, M.. 2014. ‘People's perspectives of organised crime in West Africa and the Sahel’, ISS Paper 254. Dakar, April.Google Scholar
Reitano, T. & Tinti, P.. 2015. ‘Survive and advance: the economics of smuggling refugees and migrants into Europe’, ISS Paper 289. Dakar, November.Google Scholar
Sahan/IGAD. 2016. Human Trafficking and Smuggling on the Horn of Africa–Central Mediterranean Route. Nairobi, February.Google Scholar
Saley, O. & Fodou, A.. 2016. ‘Niger: plus de 1500 migrants passent par Tourayate, chaque semaine’, Sahelien.com, 9.6.2016. <http://sahelien.com/blog/niger-agadez-plus-de-retours-que-de-departs-de-migrants/>, accessed March 2017.,+accessed+March+2017.>Google Scholar
Sandor, A. 2016. ‘Border security and drug trafficking in Senegal: AIRCOP and global security assemblages’, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding 10, 4: 490–512.Google Scholar
Schapendonk, J. 2012. ‘Turbulent trajectories: African migrants on their way to the European Union’, Societies 2, 2: 27–41.Google Scholar
Scheele, J. 2012. Smugglers and saints of the Sahara: regional connectivity in the twentieth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Shaw, M. & Kemp, W. 2012. Spotting the Spoliers: a guide to analyzing organized crime in fragile states. New York, NY: International Peace Institute.Google Scholar
Shaw, M. & Reitano, T. 2013. ‘The evolution of organised crime in Africa’, ISS Paper 244. Pretoria, April.Google Scholar
Shaw, M. & Mangan, F. 2015. ‘Enforcing “our law” when the state breaks down: the case of protection economies in Libya and their political consequences’, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 7, 1: 99–110.Google Scholar
Siegfried, K. 2017. ‘Exclusive: EU migrant policy in Africa built on incorrect Niger data’, IRIN News, 31.1.2017. <https://www.irinnews.org/news/2017/01/31/exclusive-eu-migrant-policy-africa-built-incorrect-niger-data>, accessed February 2017.,+accessed+February+2017.>Google Scholar
Snyder, R. & Duran-Martinez, A.. 2009. ‘Does illegality breed violence? Drug trafficking and state-sponsored protection rackets’, Crime Law and Social Change 52, 3: 253–73.Google Scholar
The Guardian . 2015. ‘UN says 800 migrants dead in boat disaster as Italy launches rescue of two more vessels’, 20.4.2015.Google Scholar
The New York Times . 2017. ‘Why more migrants are dying in the Sahara’, 22.8.2017.Google Scholar
Tidjani Alou, M. 2012. ‘Monitoring the neopatrimonial state on a day-by-day basis: politicians, customs officials and traders in Niger’, in Bach, D. & Gazibo, M., eds, Neopatrimonalism in Africa and Beyond. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tinti, P. & Westcott, T.. 2016. ‘The Niger–Libya corridor: smugglers’ perspectives’, ISS Paper 299. Dakar, November.Google Scholar
Toaldo, M. 2015. ‘Migrations through and from Libya: a Mediterranean challenge’. IAI Working Papers 15. Rome, May.Google Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2015. The sea route to Europe: the Mediterranean passage in the age of refugees. Geneva: UNHCR.Google Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 2017. Italy Country Update – December 2016. Geneva: UNHCR.Google Scholar
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC). 2011. The Role of Organized Crime in the Smuggling of Migrants from West Africa to the European Union. Vienna: UNODC.Google Scholar
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2013. Criminalité Transnationale Organisée en Afrique de l'Ouest: Une Evaluation des Menaces. Vienna: UNODC.Google Scholar
Utas, M., ed. 2012. African Conflict and Informal Power: big men and networks. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Van der Lijn, J. 2017. For the Long Run: a mapping of migration-related activities in the wider Sahel region. Clingendael Report. The Hague, February.Google Scholar
Wehrey, F. 2017. Insecurity and Governance Challenges in Southern Libya. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Google Scholar
Wood, E.J. 2006. ‘The ethical challenges of field research in conflict zones’, Qualitative Sociology 29, 3: 307–41.Google Scholar

Interviews

AH: representative of Niger's coalition of human rights defenders, Niamey, September 2015 and May 2016.Google Scholar
AM: spokesperson of the local authorities of the region of Agadez, September 2017 (remote interview).Google Scholar
BT: representative of the Bureau des Trafiquants in Agadez, May 2016 (remote interview).Google Scholar
CN: member of a Nigerien para-judicial body dealing with human rights, Niamey, October 2015.Google Scholar
HM: professor of human geography of the University of Niamey, Niamey, May 2016.Google Scholar
IB: former Tuareg combatant now integrated in Niger's bureaucracy, Niamey, October 2015.Google Scholar
IC: Nigerien unionist and social worker, now employed in an NGO dealing with children rights, Tahoua, May 2016.Google Scholar
KL: EU officer dealing with Libya, Brussels, January 2017 (remote interview).Google Scholar
KP: criminal prosecutor, member of the anti-terrorism and anti-OC pool, Niamey, September 2015Google Scholar
MD: Gao resident, former migrant in Libya and current humanitarian actor working to rescue stranded migrants, Bamako, April 2016.Google Scholar
MS: member of the Nigerien armed forces, anti-terrorist units deployed in Tillabéry and Diffa, Niamey, October 2015.Google Scholar
NN: EU officer dealing with Niger, Niamey, September 2015 and May 2016.Google Scholar
PF: EU officer dealing with Libya, Tunis, January 2017 (remote interview).Google Scholar
SB: EU officer dealing with Niger, Niamey, May 2016.Google Scholar
SG: captain of Niger's gendarmerie in the region of Tahoua, Tahoua, May 2016.Google Scholar
SF: IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix officer, posted in Sicily, June 2017.Google Scholar
TB: member of a Nigerien civil society organization dealing with migration, Niamey, September 2015; and May 2016.Google Scholar
WA: representative of Niger's local chapter of Transparency International, Niamey, September 2015.Google Scholar
YC: Tuareg NGO worker from Agadez, Tahoua, May 2016.Google Scholar