The role of the smuggler. A study on immigrants who reached Europe through the means of irregular facilitators

Abstract: The thesis aims to investigate the role of human smuggling in migration, and specifically, the part played by the figure of the facilitators. The study was conducted through qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews: six people who reached Europe through the assistance of smugglers were interviewed in three different countries – Germany, Italy and Sweden. The data collected reflects the opinions, experiences, and the perspectives of the migrants. Accordingly, the data is interpreted through the Rational Choice Theory that focuses on the micro-level angle, and the concept of border which intends to research the phenomenon from a macro-level viewpoint. The findings revealed that smugglers play a crucial role in migration allowing the border-crossing for those migrants who do not have regular means to travel. I suggest that smugglers renegotiate the concept of border which becomes more fluid and permeable.