Policy coherence for development and migration
Analyzing US and EU policies through the lens of normative transformation
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Abstract
The European Union’s (EU) 2015–2016 “migration/asylum crisis” gave discussions over the relationships between migration, security and development renewed prominence in global affairs. In response to record migratory flows, the EU, like the United States (US), has implemented security responses to migration aimed at protecting territorial integrity. This article addresses the migration–security–development nexus through the lens of policy coherence for development (PCD). It compares EU and US migration policies within the framework of the “transformative development” associated with the Sustainable Development Goals. It contends that these donors have undermined transformative development through the regionalization of development aid, which has contributed to the securitization of both development and migration policies. Thus, the article contends that new mechanisms for change need to be identified. It introduces the notion of “normative coherence” and proposes a potential role for regional human rights courts in fostering migration-related PCD.
Contributor Notes
HARLAN KOFF is Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Luxembourg. He is President of the Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional Integration and Social Cohesion (RISC) and co-coordinator of RISC’s working group on “Development, Equity and Policy Coherence.” He is also co-editor of the journal Regions and Cohesion (Berghahn Journals). He conducts research in the fields of migration, international development, comparative regional integration, environmental security and borderlands studies. E-mail: Harlan.Koff@uni.lu