It is about more than just training: the effect of Frontex border guard training

Border guards are the first actors that asylum-seekers and refugees encounter when crossing national borders to seek asylum. What assures the capacity of border guards is training and, in the European context, the European Union border agency Frontex has developed a common border guard training regime that European Union Member States have participated in forming. This article asks what impact this Frontex training has brought to the field of European Union external border management. Building upon the works of sociological institutionalists, it argues that Frontex training has brought an integrative effect to the field with the effects of socialization and professionalization at a European level. These effects, which are brought through the use of common training and training materials, have promoted the sharing of the views of border guards and the creation of a professional community at the European level. This implies that the way that policies are implemented on the ground is largely shifting toward convergence. It is also identified that what supports the high degree of participation in Frontex training is the understanding of Member States that participation converges with their interests in relation to others in the same field.