Democracy Matters (To Some Extent): Autocracies, Democracies and the Forced Return of Migrants from the EU

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Samenvatting

This article analyses whether the European Union returns more irregular migrants to democratic or autocratic states. It establishes the EU’s return rates with the whole world over a period of twelve years (2008–2019) and connects it to non-EU countries’ democratic credentials. Democracy mattered to some extent in the sense that the EU had generally fewer return orders and higher return rates with democratic states. Yet, a macro perspective indicates that the EU was driven by an interest to maximise returns to non-EU countries, irrespective of the regime type. Some autocratic regimes–and those that became more autocratic–had high return rates and were actively targeted for achieving more returns. A non-EU country’s change towards more or less democratic standards had a comparatively minor likelihood of impacting the EU return rate.

Originele taal-2English
Pagina's (van-tot)1-26
Aantal pagina's26
TijdschriftGeopolitics
DOI's
StatusPublished - 23 jul 2024

Bibliografische nota

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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