Practicing Externalization: How The EU’s Migration Governance Extends Control Beyond Its Borders

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Research in Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2026

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Practicing Externalization: How The EU’s Migration Governance Extends Control Beyond Its Borders

Ramin Mansoory

ABSTRACT:

This article explores how externalization has evolved from a set of ad hoc cooperation measures into a governing logic that now defines much of the European Union’s approach to migration management. It examines the everyday mechanisms through which the EU extends control beyond its territory through partnerships, operational delegation, and the growing use of data infrastructures to anticipate and manage mobility. The analysis treats externalization as an administrative practice rather than a foreign policy tool, focusing on how it organizes responsibility, coordination, and legitimacy across multiple actors. Drawing on document analysis and policy tracing, the article identifies three mechanisms that sustain externalization in practice: the expanding operational role of EU agencies, the integration of migration priorities into development and security cooperation, and the reliance on digital systems for early risk detection and remote decision-making. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum is used as a key reference point to show how these mechanisms have become institutionalized. Meanwhile, case studies point out that the Pact’s provisions build on earlier member states’ practices, such as Italy’s cooperation with Libya in 2017, Spain’s partnerships with Morocco since 1992, and Greece’s readmission arrangements with Turkey of 2016. Recent initiatives like Italy’s 2023 agreement with Albania establishing offshore asylum processing centers demonstrate that member states continue to drive experimentation even as EU-level coordination deepens. Overall, the article argues that externalization has shifted from the periphery of EU policy to its organizational core, turning distant control into a routine feature of contemporary European governance.

Keywords: Accountability; Asylum Policy; Institutionalization; Migration Management; Third Country Cooperation