Performing secrecy: hiding and obfuscation in Frontex’s pushbacks scandal

In this paper, I investigate how non-knowledge about border violence is maintained through secrecy. I do so by focusing on Frontex's maritime pushback scandal. The first argument I develop is that secrecy takes the form of hiding and obfuscation. Hiding is straightforward. It implies that information about pushback is withheld from oversight bodies and the public to avoid criticism and disciplinary measures. Obfuscation is more complex. It refers to the production of uncertainty, ambiguity and confusion about a policy or practice. Differently from hiding, obfuscation results from the disclosure of contradictory and misleading information about pushback, as well as from attempts to confuse the public debate by raising convoluted arguments that question the very understanding of pushbacks as illegal. The second argument I develop is that transparency can be implicated in the production of secrecy. While transparency and secrecy are typically seen as binary opposites, I will explain how mechanisms implemented to render Frontex's operation more transparent have been used to hide pushbacks and obscure the Agency's responsibility for violations of fundamental rights.