The Intersection of Migration with Authoritarian and Illiberal Tendencies

Migrant flows reveal and provoke authoritarian and illiberal tendencies among governments ranging from democratic to authoritarian. These practices tend to negatively impact the inclusion, protection, and humane treatment of migrants. We view this as a problem; migration or the movement of people is a reality, and the response to this reality is a choice that countries are faced with constantly. We wish to better understand the factors that trigger or mitigate these authoritarian and illiberal responses to migration. This exploratory, theoretical study engages with the nuance of both migration and authoritarian tendencies to provide a wide and conversation-starting introduction to the intersection of these topics. For this research, we focus on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with examples from Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, and Lebanon. These two regions are currently experiencing major migration crises. Our contribution aims to start the conversation and debate about the ways in which countries respond with authoritarian or illiberal tendencies to migrant flows into, out of, or through them. Our guiding questions include: How are migration flows revealing and provoking authoritarian and illiberal tendencies in countries with different levels of democratic development? What are the illiberal and authoritarian tendencies that we observe in the responses to migrant flows of countries with differing levels of democracy? What are the authoritarian and illiberal practices that contribute to migrants’ low acceptance and integration in destination countries? What factors trigger, or mitigate, these tendencies in both receiving and sending countries? These questions help us explore the relationship between migration and authoritarian and illiberal tendencies. Our findings identify certain factors that we believe either trigger or mitigate such tendencies.