Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Migrants

Human smuggling and illegal migration have also recently become major topics in the public discourse. Spectacular apprehensions of smugglers or dramatic pictures of unseaworthy boats crowded with refugees in the Mediterranean shape the image of smuggling operations: smuggling syndicates organize large operations involving big boats and many people. Experts from academia, governments, non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations concerned with human smuggling agree, however, that these events display only one aspect of a phenomenon which is much more complex ; it entails the following fundamental research problems: a) Smuggling as unintended consequence of restrictive admission policies; b) Lack of controlling migration flows; c) Violations of human rights The project will focus on the following interconnected research questions which are derived from the gaps in the research literature: Identifying types of human smuggling organizations The role of human smugglers in the migration process Explaining the dynamics of smuggling operations from a sociological perspective Development of comparative perspectives All the research goals described above will be investigated from a comparative perspective which will make it possible to identify country-specific phenomena as well as similarities and overlaps. To get a better description and explanation of types, origins and dynamics of human smuggling and trafficking in migrants, a very covert phenomena, the project will entail three compatible research approaches: document analysis and expert interviews as well as narrative, biographical interviews with smuggled persons. This will make it possible to get an overall picture of the entire smuggling process and its causes and dynamics.

Contrary to the portrayal of human smuggling as a distinct form of "organised crime" in most media reports, our research indicates that the market for human smuggling services is in most cases not dominated by overarching mafia-like criminal structures. Rather, in many regions there exists a complex market for highly differentiated smuggling services offered by a multitude of providers that potential migrants can choose from. As such, the phenomenon of human smuggling is distinct from other transnational illegal activities often associated with it, such as trafficking in human beings or the smuggling of goods (e.g. illicit drugs or weapons) and can be compared with a transnational service industry. Based on this observation, we explain how the peculiar characteristics of the market for human smuggling services put a high premium on a "good reputation" and "trustworthiness" of smugglers and shape the functional differentiation of various tasks to be performed in human smuggling operations involving recruiters, drivers, spotters, messengers, guides, organisers and various external collaborators. Both smugglers and smuggled migrants have devised a variety of risk-reduction strategies to minimize the dangers of exposure and fraud. For example, smugglers intend to reduce their risk of exposure by working in network-like structures, by "sealing off" various levels of their organisations or by "outsourcing" some tasks of smuggling operations as a whole. Their clients, on the other hand, actively explore information on prices and quality of smuggling services available "on the market" and put a high premium on reputation and "guaranteed" smuggling services. This revises the commonly held view that smuggled migrants are always desperate exploited human beings fully at the mercy of their smugglers. To the contrary, the detailed accounts, life-histories and the socio- economic profiles of smuggled migrants encountered during our research suggest that those using the services of human smugglers are often rational, educated and entrepreneurial young people, who are aware of the high risks they expose themselves to and who use human smuggling services in a calculated investment to realize their migration projects. Such projects can take many months or even years and often involve complex migration trajectories spanning many countries and even continents. Beyond the insights on the human smuggling industry, their accounts also illuminate the importance of migrant networks, migration-specific information, the access to capital and credit and the important role of certain locations and cities ("hubs") in their migration projects.