Scalability, Social Media and Migrant Assistance: Emulation or Contestation?

Abstract

Aid agencies have in recent years recalibrated their interventions to encompass social media technologies within their programs. This uptake can in part be explained by the unprecedented opportunities for connectivity -and therefore scalability -that social media technologies allow for. This is particularly evident amongst aid organisations within the migration policy sector.Whilst the efficacy of such approaches remains contested, less attention has been devoted to how migrant associations instrumentalise social media for emancipatory purposes. This paper explores how migrant associations attain operational space and scale by combining social media's connective capabilities with pre-established forms of relationality (reciprocity and patrimonialism). These two forms of connectivity amplify state effects and scalability, evidenced by how migrant assistance groups both emulate yet become antagonistic towards state authorities, which ultimately renders migration assistance unstable. Hence, social media's scalability goes hand in hand with state emulation and contestation.

Safe migration: Re‐embedding as anticipatory, de‐territorial governance

“…Whereas MAM can connect and reach out to migrants (i.e., 'arms' and 'legs'), either with public announcements or specific casework for migrants, the labour attaché affords MAM with formal authority to carry out their work. Such practices also reinforce state emulation in the sense that MAM's continued work with authorities makes them appear 'state-like' (See Molland, 2021b).…”

“…Such state emulation, in turn, has spatial significance. A lot of this work is achieved through the use of social media channels (a theme I explore elsewhere, see Molland, 2021b). Yet, it also manifests through how state authority is extended through informal organisations which in turn enables spatial reach.…”

The Design and Use of Digital Technologies in the Context of South–South Migration

“…This is not, though, the first time that digital tech solutions have been used for advocacy and collective action. The aid sector has long used social media to raise awareness on sensitive topics, to raise funds, to share information and to achieve political influence, particularly regarding working conditions and salaries of migrants (Molland, 2021). Social media furthermore contribute positively to scalability and connectivity between migrant groups and state actors.…”