Philosophy

Appeal

Epitome

Cartography

Trap (plumbing)

Literature

Scholarship

Visual arts

Phenomenon

Geography

Political science

Epistemology

Sociology

Meteorology

Depiction

Agency (philosophy)

Social science

History

Mobilities

How is undocumented migration typically mapped in contemporary cartography? To answer this question, we conduct an iconological dissection of what could be seen as the epitome of the cartography on undocumented migration, the map made by Frontex – the EU's border agency. We find that, rather than a scientific depiction of a migratory phenomenon, its cartography peddles a crude distortion of undocumented migration that smoothly splices into the xenophobic tradition of propaganda cartography – and stands in full confrontation with contemporary geographical scholarship. We conclude with an urgent appeal for more scientifically robust, critical and decidedly more creative cartographies of migration.

The migration map trap. On the invasion arrows in the cartography of migration