Effectiveness in a Political Context – Implications for Migration

This paper builds on the presumption that the idea of effectiveness refers primarily to an organizational and managerial context. It asks the question how this idea is transformed when used as a rationale for action in contexts where economy and efficiency are of minor significance and where no organizational survival is at stake. The EU and Swedish migration policies show, however, that persistent egoistic implications help construct a specific territory as an organization to be managed much like a business firm.  It is concluded that the meaning of effectiveness does not necessarily change when this concept is used in an alien context. Instead, references to effectiveness help transform the context to which the concept is applied.