Paper long abstract:

My thesis examines the dynamics of West African migration to Europe, using qualitative data collected in Spain, Senegal and the Mauritanian ‘holding zone’ (research to be continued Feb-August 2008). Primary areas of interest include the formulation of decisions to migrate; interactions between migrants and the state; and the impact of European border management on West African governments and on migrants. My current focus within the thesis concerns the interest of international financial institutions, governments and NGOs in migrants’ remittances. There is a strong policy trend, from the World Bank and from European governments, towards their formalisation. To examine to the extent to which macroeconomic theories relating to the productive use of remittances can be applied to West Africa, I will begin with a historical analysis of migration and remittances in the region. The case study of Senegal and Mauritania illustrates the multifarious nature of West African migration, the merging of labour and refugee movements, and the dynamism of migrant networks and communities. I argue that in the West African case – contrary to the structuralist arguments which dominate Marxist theories of migration – historical and current patterns of movement and transnational livelihoods illustrate the agency of migrants. I conclude that attempts to systematise and formalise remittances in analysis and policy formation is limited by this agency, and by the failure of colonialism or capitalist transformation in ordering or controlling financial flows in the region.