Over the past forty years, countries in the Global North have increasingly restricted their migration policies to reduce the arrival of migrants. As part of this, development aid has become a central tool in the migration control strategy pursued by European countries and the US, with donors, International Organisations and NGOs becoming prominent actors. In this book, Lorena Gazzotti shows that migration control is not only exercised through fences and deportation. Building on extensive research in Morocco, Gazzotti shows that aid marks the rise of a substantially different mode of migration containment, one where power works beyond fast violence, and its disciplinary potential is augmented precisely by its elusiveness. Where existing studies on border externalisation have essentialised donors, International Organisations and NGOs, with countries of 'origin' and 'transit' as compliant subcontractors, and border control as a neat form of intervention, this nuanced study unsettles such assumptions, to show that bordering happens in everyday, mundane fashions, far away from the spectacle of border violence. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

‘Lorena Gazzotti’s book offers a thorough analysis of the quickly evolving migration, aid. and development-humanitarian industry in Morocco. Building on a vast literature and extensive fieldwork, it also leads us towards the less explored aspects of Morocco’s migration policies.’

Nora El Qadim - University of Paris 8

‘Gazzotti’s ethnography reveals the surprising ways that humanitarian agencies ostensibly serving migrants in Morocco knowingly or unwittingly support the interests of the EU in keeping migrants out. Her cutting analysis lays bare the messy relationship between care and control, and how power is quietly deployed behind militarised border spectacles.’

David Scott FitzGerald - University of California, San Diego

‘By bringing insights from critical theory, migration studies, and humanitarian assistance literature, Lorena Gazzotti presents a novel account of the complexities of aid industry, and a detailed analysis of its facilitating role in the intricacies of migration control in Morocco.’

Aslı Ilgit - Cukurova University

‘Immigration Nation brings everyday life into the analysis of the profound transformations that characterise migration policies and practice in Morocco. A crucial read in understanding the interplay of migration control, diplomacy, international organisations, aid, and the ways in which they affect migrants’ lives on the ground.’

Federica Infantino - European University Institute

‘Weaving individual stories and vignettes into a powerful conceptual argument, each of the chapters employs a different lens through which to shed light on the complex architecture and workings of power in Morocco’s aid and border politics.’

Katharina Natter Source: Middle East Journal