Bounded agency and aspirations: Understanding the motivations for irregular migration from Bangladesh to Europe

State in modern times has seen globalization accentuating the phenomena of various types of irregular migration as it has brought about newer opportunities of life and livelihoods across the oceans in hitherto distant lands. Conversely, even though these irregular migrants encounter many obstacles along the route, they risk their lives in the hopes of securing a better future for themselves and their families. However, very few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the key factors that trigger this group's desperation for irregular migration. To fill this gap, this article examines this group's motivations for migration and the decision-making process for such migration by drawing on primary data collected from 100 returnee migrants. It uses Evan's (2002, 2007) ‘Bounded Agency’ and de Haas's (2010) ‘Aspirations-Capabilities Framework’ for exploring the broader spectrum of the phenomenon of irregular migration from Bangladesh to Europe. This article looks at how structural constraints, individual aspirations, and capabilities interact in shaping migration decisions. The findings demonstrate how socio-economic constraints and a lack of legal migration options push migrants to follow dangerous and unorthodox routes in search of better economic possibilities in the contradiction-ridden neoliberal system. The new knowledge contributed by the article, in relation to irregular migration from Bangladesh to Europe, might be relevant to other contexts where irregular migration is a common phenomenon.