A Widening Moral Rift: The Complex Interactions between EU Externalization and Afghan Border Ecosystems

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241245189
• Author: Ruta Nimkar,Abdullah Mohammadi
• Date: 01 September 2023

46 ANNALS, AAPSS, 709, September 2023

DOI: 10.1177/00027162241245189

A Widening

Moral Rift: The

Complex

Interactions

between EU

Externalization

and Afghan

Border

Ecosystems

By

RUTA NIMKAR

and

ABDULLAH MOHAMMADI

1245189ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYA WIDENING MORAL RIFT

research-article2024

The European Union has worked with non-EU coun-

tries, including Afghanistan, to manage migration from

that country since 2015. EU policies regarding Afghan

migration aim, in part, to change a migration dynamic

in which smugglers have played a key role. This

approach was maintained even in the immediate after-

math of the return of the Taliban in 2021 and was

mainstreamed into EU humanitarian efforts. Here, we

argue that current efforts at so-called border externali-

zation have contributed to a moral rift between the EU

and Afghan smugglers, one in which the smugglers

develop moral justifications for their work. We show

that the EU’s short-term gains with regard to lower

arrival numbers have come at the expense of develop-

ing a sense of legitimacy for their migration principles,

governance, and infrastructure among the Afghan peo-

ple over the long term. The widening moral rift

between Afghan smugglers and EU policymakers is

likely to bolster an existing migration infrastructure that

provides a logic for grassroots resistance.

Keywords: human smuggling; irregular migration;

Afghanistan; morality; externalization

In August 2021, Afghanistan faced an

upheaval: the government led by Ashraf

Ghani collapsed, the Taliban took power, and

international forces withdrew from the country.

Emergency evacuations of foreign and Afghan

Correspondence: ruta@meraki-labs.org

Ruta Nimkar is the cofounder of Meraki Labs and a

DPhil student at the University of Oxford. At Meraki

Labs, she works on smuggling, migration, and displace-

ment research and evaluation for governments, UN

agencies, and INGOs. In her DPhil, she examines the

power dynamics between different actors in smuggling

hubs.

Abdullah Mohammadi is a researcher contributing to

Meraki Labs and the regional program coordinator for

Asia and the Pacific in the Mixed Migration Centre

(MMC). His main research interests are forced migra-

tion, return migration, and smuggling networks. He

also studies the vulnerabilities of specific migrant

groups at various stages of the journey.

A WIDENING MORAL RIFT 47

nationals were organized at short notice, and videos of Afghans clinging to planes

taking off from Kabul airport were ubiquitous. As the evacuation continued, the

European Union (EU) took explicit measures beyond its own borders, in the

immediate aftermath of an emergency, to deter Afghans from entering the EU

(Crisp 2020). This policy of acting outside national borders and enlisting the sup-

port of third countries, to prevent migrants and asylum seekers from reaching the

borders of wealthier countries, is known as border externalization (Crisp 2020).

On August 31, the EU clarified its immediate priorities for Afghanistan in a state-

ment that mentioned not only evacuation of EU nationals as a priority, but also

“cooperat[ion] with [neighboring and transit] countries to prevent illegal migra-

tion from the region, reinforce border management capacity and prevent smug-

gling of migrants” (European Union 2021).

The emphasis placed on migration management in August 2021 reflected

decades-long EU policy toward Afghanistan. The EU’s engagement in Afghanistan

demonstrates classic hallmarks of its externalization approach. It entered into

agreements with the Afghan government as well as neighboring states; these

agreements promised to deliver development assistance through international

agencies, contingent on the partner country enhancing border management

measures such as infrastructure and patrols at border points (Majidi, Kasavan,

and Tummers 2021). Technical assistance was provided to Afghanistan in both

forming migration policy and training border forces (Majidi, Kasavan, and

Tummers 2021). International agencies implemented a range of activities

designed to change attitudes toward migration, including public media cam-

paigns and personalized information sessions (Oeppen 2016).

In this article, we contend that the EU’s externalization efforts in Afghanistan

may reinforce the very migration infrastructures that the EU aims to combat.

Externalization efforts are underpinned by the notion of the unscrupulous smug-

gler: border management policies and procedures are developed not only to keep

migrants at home but also to protect them from violence and exploitation at the

hands of smugglers (Sanchez 2017; Spener 2011). Smugglers, in contrast, see

themselves as a part of a strong community network; they perceive that they are

a part of a border ecosystem that has roots in religion and culture (Achilli 2018;

Majidi 2018; Stone-Cadena and Álvarez Velasco 2018). As externalization efforts

are producing a palpable sense that smuggling is being illegalized (Andersson

2014; Izcara Palacios 2017, 2019), smugglers are developing an explicit moral

justification for their work. This justification rests not only on the perceived right

to free movement, but also on the perception that actors aiming to curtail free

movement are both corrupt and immoral. In this moral paradigm, smuggling

migrants out of Afghanistan may be illegal, but it is not illicit; in fact, it represents

an effort to promote individual and community well-being.

We first outline characteristics of the border ecosystem in Afghanistan as well

as externalization measures intended to affect this ecosystem. We then discuss

key concepts that will be used to better understand smugglers’ reactions to exter-

nalization policies. After outlining data collection methods, we dissect primary

data from Afghan smugglers to comprehend their reactions to externalization,

positing that these externalization efforts are driving a novel moral justification