The Politics of Immobility: Some Conclusions on Counter-smuggling Policies and the Criminalisation of Migration in the EU

This concluding chapter ultimately brings together the main findings of this study, which are discussed in full, with the aim of answering the research question. There is also a reflection on the broader implications of the book for the study of the EU migration politics, with a suggestion of avenues for future research. The chapter unfolds in two different sections. Firstly, the results are presented and discussed, answering the research question and presenting the theoretical and methodological contributions of the book. Theory-wise, this work contributes to the scholarship on the EU politics of migration and mobility, in particular by casting a light on the role of the judiciary, on communication across governance levels (and the role played by institutional channels) and on the politics of evidence-based policy-making. The methodological contribution, on the other hand, concerns our bottom-up approach to multi-level governance. Secondly, I provide a narrative update related to what has happened from 2019 to the time of writing: this will make it possible to critically consider patterns of continuity and change and to provide the basis for a discussion on what we can infer with regard to the current situation in EU migration affairs based on the case analysed in this book. The current validity and insightfulness of the results is finally discussed from both an academic and a policy perspective, with a reflection on the implications they have for the contemporary and future governance of migration in the EU.