WP No. 14 (April 2026)
Credible Fictions and Border Authority in the Mediterranean
Author: Gerasimos Tsourapas

We are pleased to announce the publication of Working Paper No. 14 in the EuroMedMig Working Paper Series, authored by Gerasimos Tsourapas.

In this timely and innovative contribution, Tsourapas examines how migration governance in the Mediterranean increasingly operates through what he terms “credible fictions”: institutionally legible performances of migration control, responsibility, and border authority that become politically valuable once recognized by European actors.

Moving beyond conventional understandings of migration diplomacy focused on coercion and “migration weaponization,” the paper argues that Euro-Mediterranean migration governance functions through the co-production of border authority between European governments and neighbouring states. Drawing on the cases of Türkiye, Libya, and Egypt, the paper shows how performances of control and governance become translated into diplomatic recognition, financial support, and political legitimacy.

By connecting debates on migration diplomacy, refugee rentierism, and EU externalisation, the paper offers an important theoretical contribution to the study of migration governance and Mediterranean politics.

The full paper is available here: UPF Repository – WP14

Stay tuned for more publications from the EuroMedMig Working Paper Series.