The Algorithmic Crimmigrant: How does the development and diffusion of novel surveillance and security technologies impact the global criminalization

The European Union provides a useful case for investigating the first subquestion dealing with the relationship between new security technologies and crimmigration policy. Enormous projects implementing automated large-scale information systems for migration and crime control purposes are underway, and the EU external border has been a key site for technological innovation in this field over the past decade. The recent 'migrant crisis' and ongoing Irish border dispute as part of the Brexit negotiations have further spurred innovation in this area.
In order to empirically investigate the second subquestion, the research would move beyond the Global North which has thus far figured most prominently in related scholarship. The Global South remains an understudied, yet enormously promising area for future research. Asia Pacific is quickly becoming the leading market for border surveillance and immigration control technologies.21 An examination of the region would highlight mechanisms of diffusion and political dynamics between technology- and policy-exporting Western countries and recipient non-Western nations.
Finally, the third subquestion must be pursued on the ground by examining the daily practices of border control officials. Fortunately, the need for ground-level empirical research was touched upon repeatedly in interviews I conducted for my current MPhil thesis research, which has left me with multiple contacts in the EU and European national border agencies.
Data collection for all three subquestions will consist of document analysis and qualitative interviews, as well as ethnographic observation in the fieldwork phase. I have been trained in all of these methods during my current MPhil studies. As part of my thesis research, I have conducted extensive document analysis of EU legislation and policy papers, as well as elite interviews with EU officials and private security professionals.
The main methodological challenges to conducting the research will arise from the secrecy that surrounds the private and public security sectors. However, my MPhil fieldwork has left me with contacts among both public and private border security professionals. When examining non-Western states, language barriers may arise. Yet in the context of transnational interactions, English is likely to be the lingua franca, and an in-depth examination of documents in local languages is unlikely to be necessary for this research. Therefore, although methodological challenges will inevitably influence the execution of this project, I am confident in its practical viability over the course of the DPhil program.