Against all odds: Thessaloniki’s local policy activism in the reception and integration of forced migrants

Abstract

Why do local governments develop policies for the reception and integration of forced migrants? What strategies do they employ in pursuing their own policy objectives in this field, especially within restrictive institutional and financial frameworks? In this article, I use an assemblage approach and insights from extensive desk and field research to study the successful migration policy activism of the Municipality of Thessaloniki in Greece. I argue that the initiatives of mayors and access to external funds can both trigger and facilitate the development of local reception and integration policies. In addition, I argue that horizontal and vertical coalitions with local, transnational and international partners may help local governments effectively exploit their space for discretion in migration and integration policy-making. Based on my findings, I emphasise the need to further examine the emerging relationships between United Nations (UN) organisations and local authorities in the field of migration governance. Furthermore, I advocate a broader application of the assemblage approach in migration policy research.

The role of local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants: evidence from Greece

“…It would be problematic to draw general conclusions on the basis of this study. That said, research conducted in a number of municipalities in several EU countries in the context of 'Cities of Refuge' suggests that interactive and multilevel local political leadership has been an important factor in the development of more welcoming and inclusive municipal approaches to forced migrants' reception and integration (e.g., Oomen et al, 2021;Sabchev, 2021). In addition, a number of studies in migration policy research and refugee studies demonstrate similar findings, highlighting the explicit engagement of local political leaders in building coalitions with local and transnational partners (Betts et al, 2020;Garcés-Mascareñas & Gebhardt, 2020).…”

“…In theory, local governments can only influence a few aspects related to the functioning of a reception centre, such as waste management and water supply. However, the inadequacy of the Greek government to meet the challenges posed by the increased number of arrivals during 2015's 'long summer of migration' led to a widespread adhocracy in reception management (Sabchev, 2021). A wide range of actors from the international, national and local levels performed various functions with little or no coordination, often outside the legal and policy framework (Greek Ombudsman, 2017).…”

“…In this way, any discrepancies between the stance of the local government led by the mayor and the municipal administrative staff could be detected. Rather than in isolation, these data were reviewed in the context of the developments at the time in the wider region of the city of Thessaloniki (Sabchev, 2021). In this respect, participant observation and interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Migration Policy, other municipal authorities in the area, and NGOs delivering services to locally residing forced migrants, provided additional insights into the events taking place in Greek the two municipalities (Table 2).…”

“…While he acknowledged that the functioning of the facility itself was beyond his competence, he announced the mobilization of all the available municipal resources in order to ensure decent living conditions for the forced migrants hosted in the municipality. Taking full advantage of the adhocracy in the management of reception at the time (Sabchev, 2021) and of his formal competences and room for discretion, Thermi's mayor established a task force composed of municipal councillors and technical staff with the aim of addressing the problems in the reception centre (Thermis Dromena, 2016a). The municipal employees took care of the power supply, provided stoves and wood for heating during the winter, cleaned the facilities after they had been flooded by heavy rains, and took measures to ensure the safety of the sheltered migrants.…”

“…However, little research has explicitly addressed the role of mayors in relation to forced migrants' reception (Betts et al, 2020;Terlouw & Böcker, 2019), and an adequate conceptualization of local political leadership in migration governance is lacking. Despite the fact that local governments usually do not have competences in the asylum/reception policy domain, there is some evidence that mayors can contribute to the development of novel practices in this area, and by extension strengthen the fulfilment of asylum seekers or undocumented migrants' human rights (Sabchev, 2021;Terlouw & Böcker, 2019). This is in line with insights from research in other policy areas, which show that mayors can significantly alter the dynamics within local communities and advance environmental sustainability (Sotarauta et al, 2012).…”