Vulnerability as a Globally Mobile Policy Concept in Migration Governance: A Comparative Study

In this article, we investigate how vulnerability functions as a governance tool in the reception of asylum seekers and other migrants, focusing on how vulnerability frames access to social and material assistance (e.g., information and counseling, accommodation). We contribute to and advance debates on the increased reliance on the concept of vulnerability in migration and asylum governance by mobilizing a policy mobility perspective. Drawing on case studies in Cádiz (Spain) and Marseille (France), we examine how vulnerability as a mobile policy concept becomes embedded in these sites as it encounters specific constellations of actors, institutions, and regulatory frameworks. Our analysis shows that the vulnerability concept easily adapts to the logics of (neo-)liberal marketization, and to both the “nativist” and “globalist” discourses that currently circulate in migration policy and public debate. We argue that the persistence of the vulnerability framework in migration governance is due to its flexibility and ability to serve diverse political agendas. In conclusion, we argue that a policy mobility perspective tempers the idea that a more coherent or inclusive definition would “fix” the problem of vulnerability governance and strengthen rights and protection for people on the move.