Producing the ‘Transit’ State in Post-2023 Niger

<section class="text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-(--header-height)" dir="auto" data-turn-id="84f45ed6-26dc-4300-95bd-db989b2c7bc6" data-testid="conversation-turn-1" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="user"></section> <section class="text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-WEB:e6a1bc17-59e0-46d7-ba1a-ef453cdbf495-0" data-testid="conversation-turn-2" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn="assistant"> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1" dir="auto" tabindex="0" data-message-author-role="assistant" data-message-id="285e21ee-c80b-4d32-81f7-97c53997955d" data-message-model-slug="gpt-5-3" data-turn-start-message="true"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> <p data-start="0" data-end="963" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">This thesis examines how Niger has been produced as a &ldquo;transit state&rdquo; and how that label shapes migration governance before and after the 2023 military coup. It argues that while the transit state label persists through discourse, data practices, and institutional routines, international and local actors have diverged in their interpretation of the label. Before the coup, the label enabled close EU&ndash;Niger cooperation and justified certain security policies, including border enforcement and anti-smuggling measures. After the coup, however, Nigerien authorities have reframed migration as an issue of sovereignty rather than European security. Although Niger remains central to migration routes, the label no longer produces the same security practices on the ground, giving way instead to more fragmented, humanitarian, and data-driven forms of migration governance. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section>