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Coherence and Contradictions in Danish Migration-Development Policy and Practice

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Abstract

Since the early 2000s, increasing attention has been given to the migration–development nexus. Numerous studies, policy analyses and recommendations on how to make migration work for development in practical ways have been produced, resulting in (among other initiatives) attempts to include migration concerns in the post-2015 development agenda and efforts to promote policy coherence for development. After an initial ‘euphoria’, most involved parties today agree that there is no simple one-way relationship between migration and development. Development is unlikely to decrease migration in the short run, and migration in itself cannot be the main recipe for development. Critical voices, moreover, argue that much migration-development policy in reality has served migration management functions rather than development goals. This article reflects on these contradictions in the light of Danish policy debate and practice. It brings considerations on the migration–development nexus in dialogue with reflections on policy coherence and forwards the following two arguments: First, that although policy coherence in the migration-development field perhaps always was unrealistic, a certain degree of policy incoherence might – at least for a while – have safeguarded development budgets from being used for migration-management purposes. Second, that reluctance to incorporate migration concerns in ‘classic’ development activities represents a missed opportunity. This calls for a critical analysis of Danish and European pledges to adopt a comprehensive and coherent approach to the field of development and migration policies.

Abstract

Depuis le début des années 2000, la Dialectique Migration et Développement a attiré une attention croissante. Après «l’euphorie» initiale, les acteurs les plus impliqués admettent aujourd’hui que la relation entre les deux n’est ni simple ni à sens unique: à court terme, le développement est peu susceptible de réduire la migration, et la migration en elle-même ne peut pas être la solution principale pour le développement. De plus, les critiques affirment que beaucoup de politiques de migration et développement ont en réalité servi à des fins de gestion migratoire plutôt qu’à des fins de développement. Cet article se penche sur ces contradictions, à la lumière de la politique et de la pratique danoise. Il relie des considérations relatives à la dialectique et des réflexions sur la cohérence des politiques et transmet les arguments suivants: premièrement, bien que la cohérence des politiques dans le domaine de la migration et du développement ait peut-être toujours été irréaliste, un certain degré d’incohérence de la politique aurait permis d’éviter, au moins pour un temps, que les budgets de développement ne soient utilisés à des fins de gestion migratoire. Deuxièmement, cette réticence à intégrer les questions de migration dans les activités «classiques» de développement représente une occasion manquée.

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Notes

  1. For Danida development and strategic priorities, see um.dk/en/danida-en/goals/strategy/.

  2. When the Policy Network began to be hosted by the Honduran Ministry of Governance, it lost its base with the ousting of President Manuel Zelaya during the coup d’état on 28 June 2009.

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  1. The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ninna Nyberg Sørensen

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Sørensen, N. Coherence and Contradictions in Danish Migration-Development Policy and Practice. Eur J Dev Res 28, 62–75 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2015.73

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