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From Iran to the Netherlands, and everywhere in between

Irregular migration and human smuggling from Iran to the Netherlands (1988–1989 and 2009–2010)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2023

Louise Ballière Open the ORCID record for Louise Ballière [Opens in a new window]
Louise Ballière*
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, Department of History, IACS/ LaRHis, +32 485 68 24 79, louise.balliere@uclouvain.be, Place Blaise Pascal 1/L3.03.02, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique
*
louise.balliere@hotmail.com
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Abstract

A migrant's journey is no linear trajectory from A to B. It is a fragmented and complex move over different regions with alternating periods of mobility and immobility. This article researches the complex dynamics of irregular migration from Iran to the Netherlands, and everywhere in between. Through a historical comparison of the life stories of Iranian asylum seekers in the Netherlands in two time periods (1988–1989 and 2009–2010), it studies the routes they took, their relations with human smugglers, and their interactions with immigration policies and border managements along the way. It shows migrants' and smugglers’ flexibility and capacity to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. Migration politics and border controls, along with their increasing limitations on legal migration channels, are indeed crucial in the understanding of irregular migration practices and the ever-growing involvement of facilitating services. Through a combination of this migration policy research and the migration trajectory research, the paper explores these dynamics and the interactions between migrants, smugglers, and state policies in every phase of their journey from Iran to the Netherlands, and everywhere in between.

Keywords

Irregular MigrationMigration TrajectoryHuman SmugglingImmigration and Asylum Policy
Type
Article
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , July 2023 , pp. 523 - 551
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Iranian Studies

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