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Seeking Legitimacy Through Knowledge Production: The Politics of Monitoring and Evaluation of the EU Trust Fund for Africa

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  • Natalie Welfens
  • Saskia Bonjour

Abstract

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a form of expert knowledge that is central to migration governance. This article analyses M&E of the EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), created in 2015 to ‘fight the root causes of migration’. Combining institutionalist accounts with practice theory, we examine whether M&E knowledge production served the instrumental purpose of assessing policy impact or mainly legitimated particular policy actors and positions. We find that M&E did not produce evidence on whether the EUTF met its objectives. However, in the context of the EU's multiple crises, M&E knowledge production served to seek legitimacy not only for the EUTF, but also for the further fusion of development and migration policies, and for the EU as a competent and transparent actor. Our analysis highlights that knowledge use and knowledge production are connected, and that M&E knowledge politics allow for the legitimation of both actors and policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalie Welfens & Saskia Bonjour, 2023. "Seeking Legitimacy Through Knowledge Production: The Politics of Monitoring and Evaluation of the EU Trust Fund for Africa," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 951-969, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:61:y:2023:i:4:p:951-969
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13434
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    1. repec:osf:socarx:mzy8h_v2 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Alpes, Maybritt Jill, 2024. "Smuggling critique into impact: Research design principles for critical and actionable migration research," SocArXiv mzy8h, Center for Open Science.
    3. repec:osf:socarx:mzy8h_v1 is not listed on IDEAS

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