A spatial analysis of secondary movements and desertification in EU asylum governance

This article investigates nudging forward, an emerging strategic practice by southern EU Member States that redirects beneficiaries of international protection toward other Member States. Drawing on cases from Greece and Italy, it conceptualises nudging forward as a dual mechanism of facilitation and obstruction (enabling onward movement while restricting settlement and return). The study identifies within the push–pull paradigm a distinct sub-form of indirect deterrence, termed as ‘deserts’. It further examines the strategy within the EU legal architecture of the Schengen acquis and the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), and highlights its spatial implications, exploring the construction of space, the shaping of migration trajectories and the reallocation of responsibility.