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Corruption and Bribery at the Border: Strategies of Survival and Adaptation between People Smugglers and Border Enforcement

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  • David L. Suber

Abstract

Border corruption can help facilitate the smuggling of people and irregular migration, but it receives limited attention in academic research. In this article, I explore how smugglers use corruption and bribery to circumvent border restrictions. I focus on the role of bribery in the survival economy of border communities, including migrants, smugglers, and border authorities, and on its role in facilitating cross-border movement. This study draws on extensive ethnographic research conducted on land routes between West Asia and Europe, interviewing smugglers specifically on the Syrian–Turkish border and the Evros border between Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria. My findings indicate that on both borders, smugglers and border guards accommodate each other’s interests in creative collaborative processes. As such, corruption and bribery are not merely illegal practices but rather strategic adaptations in response to harsher border enforcement policies, stemming from specific needs of local border realities.

Suggested Citation

  • David L. Suber, 2023. "Corruption and Bribery at the Border: Strategies of Survival and Adaptation between People Smugglers and Border Enforcement," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 709(1), pages 65-85, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:709:y:2023:i:1:p:65-85
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162241245504
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christina Boswell & Thomas Straubhaar, 2004. "The illegal employment of Foreign workers: an overview," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 39(1), pages 4-7, January.
    2. Julien Brachet, 2018. "Manufacturing Smugglers: From Irregular to Clandestine Mobility in the Sahara," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 676(1), pages 16-35, March.
    3. Tekalign Ayalew Mengiste, 2018. "Refugee Protections from Below: Smuggling in the Eritrea-Ethiopia Context," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 676(1), pages 57-76, March.
    4. Anna Triandafyllidou, 2018. "Migrant Smuggling: Novel Insights and Implications for Migration Control Policies," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 676(1), pages 212-221, March.
    5. Danny Singh, 2022. "The Causes of Police Corruption and Working towards Prevention in Conflict-Stricken States," Laws, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Stephanie Maher, 2018. "Out of West Africa: Human Smuggling as a Social Enterprise," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 676(1), pages 36-56, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Soledad à lvarez Velasco & Manuel Bayón Jiménez, 2023. "“Por trocha†: Circumventing the Episodical Criminalization of Migration in the Andes," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 709(1), pages 24-45, September.

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