Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: In the summer of 2015, the migratory route across the Balkans »entered into the European spotlight, and indeed onto the screen of the global public« (Kasparek 2016: 2), triggering different interpretations and responses.Contrary to the widespread framing of the mass movement of people seeking refuge in Europe as ›crisis‹ and ›emergency‹ of unseen proportions, we opt for the perspective of »the long Summer of Migration« (Kasparek/Speer 2015) and an interpretation that regards it as »a historic and monumental year of migration for Europe precisely because disobedient mass mobilities have disrupted the European regime of border control« (Stierl/Heller/de Genova 2016: 23).In reaction to the disobedient mass mobilities of people, a state-tolerated and even state-organized transit of people, a »formalized corridor« (Beznec/Speer/Stojić Mitrović 2016), was gradually established.To avoid the concentration of unwanted migrants on their territory, countries along the route-sometimes in consultation with their neighboring countries and EU member states, sometimes simply by creating facts-strived to regain control over the movements by channeling and isolating them by means of the corridor (see e.g.Hameršak/ Pleše 2018; Speer 2017; Tošić 2017).»Migrants didn't travel the route any more: they were hurriedly channeled along, no longer having the power to either determine their own movement or their own speed« ( Kasparek 2016).The corridor, at the same time, facilitated and tamed the movement of people.In comparison to the situation in Serbia, where migrants were loosely directed to follow the path of the corridor (see e.g.Beznec/Speer/Stojić Mitrović 2016; Greenberg/Spasić 2017; Kasparek 2016: 6), migrants in other states like North Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia were literally in the corridor's power, i.e. forced to follow the corridor (see Hameršak/Pleše 2018; Beznec/Speer/Stojić Mitrović 2016; Chudoska Blazhevska/Flores Juberías 2016: 231-232; Kogovšek Šalamon 2016: 44-47; Petrović 2018).The corridor was operative in different and constantly changing modalities until March 2016.Since then, migration through the Balkan region still takes place, with migrants struggling on a
Language: English
Topic: Migration and Exile Studies
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7138836568