Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies
Volume 12, Issue 2, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wimm20/current#.UyWnvIUWNdc

Special Issue: Irregular Migration in Southern European Islands
Islands and Undesirables: Introduction to the Special Issue on Irregular Migration in Southern European Islands
Nathalie Bernardie-Tahira & Camille Schmollb*
DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2014.899657
pages 87-102
Abstract
This introduction presents the challenges to studying irregular migration in the southern European islands. After presenting the debates surrounding the category of irregular migration and recent developments in irregular migration to southern European islands, we argue that the situation of islands needs to be contextualized within the broader scheme of Euro-Mediterranean irregular migration. We then propose considering islands as remarkable “places of condensation” in the Euro-Mediterranean migratory setting. The article introduces two themes that will be developed throughout the special issue: (1) analyzing and challenging narratives of islandness and (2) policing and bordering the islands.