Liberal States and the Freedom of Movement

Whisper down, up and between the lanes: Exclusionary policies and their limits of control in times of irregularized migration

“…Generally, it has been acknowledged that borders, as well as migration policies, are porous and permeable (Andreas ; Joppke ; Boswell and Geddes ). Their semi–permeability gives liberal states great discretionary powers, often relying on somewhat insufficient information (Mau et al , p. 49). Street‐level bureaucrats wield often largely discretionary decision‐making (Lipsky ; Eule ), trying to seek out the ‘limits of law’ (van der Woude and van der Leun ).…”

“…While research on the state body's limiting factors is helpful to understand inherent discrepancies, and partly acknowledges how action is based on partial knowledge and information (Mau et al ), it has so far paid only little attention to the role of communication and the sharing or transmission of knowledge and information. However, practices of communication between all agents in the state apparatus (see Shumate et al ), including their strategic use, is crucial to fully grasp state inherent limiting mechanisms.…”

“…Analysis of the ‘whispering’ can examine how hierarchies of information dispersal inherent to the state body are used and shaped by street‐level bureaucrats, and also how structural inconsistencies push bureaucrats to shape information transmission, affecting the broader functioning of policies and law. It contextualizes the often serious outcomes for individuals outside the organization—here, migrants with precarious legal status—through a combined analysis of communication and information management strategies within tactics of bureaucrats, such as discretion, secrecy and cooperation, to make sense of the potential gap between expected and actual information (Mau et al ; van der Woude and van der Leun ). While street‐level bureaucrats do not simply apply predetermined given tools or cope with difficult situations (Herzfeld ; Lipsky ) but actively disable and manipulate information, these spaces of discretion, personal judgement and attitudes of bureaucrats are not simply stand‐alone practices but are inherent in the structure of public administration.…”

“…The feeling of not being included affects the acceptance of policies and can thus also strengthen distortion and wilful dismissal and ignorance of the information communicated. Decisions that are passed down are often not graspable and come from a detached group of superiors, who do not have ‘practical’ knowledge and are unfamiliar with the challenges of the street level (see Mau et al ).…”

Liberal Cosmopolitanism and Cross-Border Mobility: The Case of Visa Policies

“…78 Thus, by discriminating against nationalities, the EU's visa policy is indirectly discriminating against the dominant race or ethnic groups of a given nationality. Still, member state officials refuse to take into account "the type of discrimination which is embedded inside the difference between tourists and migrants, between North -South roads of tourism and South -North roads of what they want to see only as migration, or organized crime roads".…”