ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of current conceptualisations and analyses of migrant smuggling within a migration and development context. The chapter examines existing definitions and provides examples of key data within the limitations that currently exist on the production and accessibility of migrant smuggling statistics. The chapter examines the core components of the migration and development debate posed by Skeldon (2008) – remittances, diaspora, and brain circulation – as they relate to migrant smuggling. I argue for the need for proportionality, both in research and in operational/policy spheres, when discussing migrant smuggling, which is marginal compared to migration and mobility that does not involve smuggling. I call for greater acknowledgement of multi-faceted perspectives of smuggling in research, including as it relates to international development. I also briefly outline areas most in need of further enquiry and examination.
