Human Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry: Evidence from Austria

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach to the understanding of human smuggling processes. Based on insights gained through in-depth interviews with smuggled migrants in Austria as well as a broad range of other sources, the authors explain how the phenomenon of human smuggling can be understood as a transnational service industry linking service providers (human smugglers) with their clients (smuggled migrants). The paper explores how certain aspects of this peculiar service industry, in particular the nature of incomplete information prevalent in the market, lead to a variety of risk-reduction strategies pursued by smuggled migrants, who put a high premium on a “good reputation” and “trustworthiness” of human smugglers. These factors, together with other distinctive features of this specific market, render human smuggling structurally distinct from other criminal activities such as trafficking in human beings or the smuggling of illicit goods and call for new approaches in tackling the challenge.

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