ABSTRACT
Transit can – and has been – used to define three separate and yet intrinsically linked elements: the process itself (transit migration), the political position of states in the migratory journey (transit states vs destinations), and the individual (transit migrant). The concept acquired renewed prominence during the European ‘refugee crisis’, particularly in relation to Greece. The chapter explores the theoretical approaches and current issues around transit migration. It argues that despite its various shortcomings, transit migration offers a useful lens to understand contemporary migration particularly in countries where restrictive migration policies are becoming the norm. The chapter explores the instrumentalisation of the ‘transit country’ concept, using as an example Greece’s adoption of the designation to justify but also encourage restrictive border practices, migrant ‘strandedness’, and limited reception practices that seek to perpetuate transit and deter future arrivals. The heightened restrictive border practices and fragmentation of the migrant journey create transit spaces at the EU’s external borders, but also closer to the Schengen area (e.g., Balkans) and even within (e.g., Calais), whereby transit is equated with waiting. This, in turn, impacts migration management, with new border policies applied, as well as reception practices that seek to perpetuate transit or often encourage return.
