Immigration - Favoured, Faced or Feared? a study of the influence of economic calculations, to do the right thing and politics of insecurity, together with EU influence, in the shaping of Spanish immigration policies

This is a study of Spanish immigration policies, the changes they have gone through over the past years, and more importantly, why. Three theoretical approaches are central to this thesis, namely: economic calculations, to do the right thing, and politics of insecurity. Through these approaches, different events and considerations that affect policy-shaping are highlighted and analysed. This study also examines the influence asserted by the EU on Spanish immigration policies. It is a qualitative case study, based primarily on second hand material. The findings of this thesis are that Spanish quota systems, regularization processes, and third country agreements, have been strongly influenced by economic considerations of labor demand, and by the wish to do the right thing, with consideration to norms, democratic values and identity. Restrictive border controls and repatriation measures can be explained by pressure from the EU, but also largely by a presence of politics of insecurity, affected by the event in El Ejido, 9/11, the attack in Madrid 2004, and irregular immigration in Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands. Spanish media has also shown to have had a prominent role, although indirectly, in the shaping of the political climate regarding immigration, and thus in policy-shaping