The EU, Migration and Global Justice. Policy Narratives of HumanSmuggling and their normative implications

The paper aims to contribute to a debate on the EU’s potential role in terms of global justice in the field of migration. In order to do so, the analysisfocuses on the narratives emerging from EU policy documents relative to migrant smuggling. Four policy narratives are singled out, differing fromone another based on the main actors involved, the specific rationale of the story and the policy response envisaged by the EU. As a result, “criminal”,“humanitarian”, “deterrence” and “multilateral” narratives of smuggling are examined. Applying a threefold conception of global political justice – asnon domination, impartiality, mutual recognition – the normative content of these polices is assessed. Overall, although there are areas in whichjustice-informed commitments are advanced, the EU does not seem to live up to the high standards it sets for itself (at least rhetorically), nor with asubstantial advancement of global justice in the field of migration.