Digitalization, Digitization and Datafication: The "Three D" Transformation of Forced Migration Management

Abstract Digitalization, digitization, and datafication—referred to as the three Ds transforming forced migration management—are composed of practices of abstraction which constitute socio-spatial processes and the imaginary supporting these processes. Against the backdrop of migration management initiatives in Germany and in the European Union, the article highlights how practices like data sharing and predictive modeling create a space of abstraction which is consolidated by the imaginary of quantification and automation. This space and imaginary, based on the premises of efficiency, transparency, and control and actualized by a technocratic apparatus, define the management of migration as well as the figure of the migrant. The article concludes that the three Ds will increasingly shape forced migrants’ lives through the leveling logics of technocratic control. Academic attention to data ownership and data justice is more important than ever.