Circular Migration between Senegal and the EU? : a Discourse Analysis of Migration Practice(s)

Abstract: This thesis investigates the preconditions for a new type of migration among the highly skilled between Senegal and the EU, namely circular migration. The three most prominent actors in the shaping of the future migration pattern –the EU (administration), the Senegalese government and the future highly skilled migrants i.e. Senegalese university students –are studied by a combination of social constructivism and critical discourse analysis. The discourses are derived from official EU and Senegalese documents and from a survey as well as from semi-structured interviews with students at the two largest universities in Senegal. The analysis of the discourses shows three factors that point towards a change of the migration practice in favour of circular migration: first, an interdiscursivity between the migration, development and economic growth discourses; second, a resemblance between the three actors discourses on migration; and third, a willingness among all three actors to act for a mobility of knowledge and experience. Consequently, there are preconditions for circular migration between Senegal and the EU.