Migration Diplomacy or Dialogue of the Deaf? (Mis)perceptions in the Cooperation Between African and European Countries on Return and Readmission

Return migration has become a top priority on European political agendas, prompting intensive diplomatic activity with African states. Existing research predominantly reflects the perspectives of European states, often explaining the dynamics of return migration through variants of realist theory, which highlights interest asymmetries and power games between the Global North and South. In our study, we take a social constructivist approach on international cooperation that shifts the focus from power dynamics to the institutional set-up of collaborative efforts and the ideational structures sustaining actors' behaviour. First, we retrace the continuous expansion of cooperation between African and European countries and the shift from more formal and hierarchical approaches towards more informal means of cooperation. In the second part, we shift the focus to Nigeria, a crucial partner in European migration diplomacy, to investigate the ways in which this African country navigates both external pressures and domestic perceptions. To this end, we analyse Nigerian parliamentary debates, speeches, and newspaper articles on return migration and expert interviews conducted with key stakeholders in Nigeria. The significant role of remittances in Nigeria's economy and the strategic use of ambiguity partly explains Nigeria's tendency to signal disinterest in binding readmission agreements with Europe and it helps to understand the shift to more informal, process-oriented instruments. However, a more interpretative approach underlines the deep-rooted public and political perception of injustices in forced returns and mobility control that leaves the Nigerian government with little room to manoeuvre in the ever-brighter limelight of return diplomacy.