ABSTRACT
Taking the crisis of Arab Spring migration as a point of departure, this chapter examines the reintroduction of border controls in 2011 in light of the political and economic climate. The chapter explains that the Affair is better seen as one more incident in the development of a policy sector that is frequently controversial as a result of its connection to state sovereignty and general popular unease about asylum seekers and third country nationals (TCNs). No other event proved as critical in shaping EU immigration policy in 2011 as the crisis of Arab Spring migration by way of the so-called 'Franco-Italian Affair'. By September 2011, the Franco-Italian Affair had brought about proposed revisions to the Schengen Borders Code and inspired debate over Schengen governance moving forward. In absolute numbers, the Arab Spring migration movement remained small and relatively contained, and yet the movement was politicized to a high degree.
