Contemporary boat migration: data, geopolitics and discourses

While the migration of people by boat is a long-standing phenomenon, journeys have become more frequent and precarious as states illegalise entry.

As migration at sea becomes more common, it has gained attention from a range of actors, including enforcement authorities, political elites, media and non/inter-governmental organizations.

The sea has thus become a space of hope/desperation for migrants as well as conflict over territory and sovereignty, representing wider social debates in and beyond Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States.

Current literature on migration by boat reflects these debates, primarily concentrating on the humanitarian and legal realities of migration by boat and border enforcement at sea, however, few studies have analysed their empirical relationship.

This edited volume aims to fill this gap and thereby address important, overlapping aspects.