The role of the International Organization for Migration and the UNHCR in the EU and Italy: Still entrapped by a securitization approach to Mediterranean migration?

Mediterranean migration flows have been managed, so far, by revitalizing the traditional remits, such as border control, of the state. Recent years have seen the growth of nationalist parties, able to exploit migrant flows to expand their support. Rescue operations have also received widespread criticism from several other actors, instead others have expressed anxiety about the lack of concern, on the part of state representatives, for the humanitarian dimension of the phenomenon. The EU has not been able to act as a counterweight and has shown all the difficulties involved in enhancing solidarity and responsibility-sharing between member states. Moreover, there is a lack of mutual trust affecting not only the EU and its members states, but also the broad international cooperation that includes international organizations (IOs) and NGOs. The article adheres broadly to the interactive model outlined by Longo in the introduction to this special issue. The interactive model highlights the interplay between the external and internal variables influencing different policies, and is here applied to the process of reception of migrants in Italy during the ʻrefugee crisisʼ. In particular, the article explores how the principal IOs managing migrants and refugees are constrained, in their cooperation activities, by domestic policies and especially by a revitalization of the nation-state concept as exemplified by the so-called ʻhotspotʼ approach.