CfP Panel: The Securitisation of Migration in Border Regions: Shaping Policies of Inclusion/Exclusion in Southern Europe

Section: “International Migration: Policies and Politics”

ECPR General Conference Dublin 2024 – Aug. 12th to 15th, 2024

 

If you are interested in joining the panel, please email a paper abstract proposal (up to 250 words) to megan.smith@upf.edu and liana.wool@upf.edu by Tuesday, Dec. 19th 5pm (CET).

 

Panel Abstract

The securitisation of migration is highlighted as more starkly observable in the southern border regions of the European Union (EU), which act as a buffer zone between unwanted international migration and fortress Europe. Herein EU states develop a wide-range of techniques of power characterised by representations of individuals migrating as a threat or risk to be managed. In southern border regions, this is often through ad-hoc, crisis-driven policy experimentation with constantly evolving practices to ‘manage migration’ that are replicated by other states. Host communities in such border regions, particularly individuals and non-state organisations, tend to be the first-line of support in efforts towards local inclusion and integration, but are often lacking the power, influence, tools, and/or resources to respond appropriately. Such cyclical dynamics reinforce state-centralised power to control and regulate the lives of migrants in receiving states. This panel critically examines migration policies and practices at the microlevel and evaluates the role of non-state local actors in challenging and/or reinforcing such policies through diverse case studies including the Balkans, Greece, Italy, Spain, among others. Through this series of empirical and theoretical papers from a Southern European perspective, this panel explores how state and non-state actors develop, showcase, and exercise power over immigration, reflecting on civil society’s role and (in)ability to influence or push back against the securitisation of migration.

 

We are particularly interested in proposed paper abstracts which focus on the following:

 

• The role of state and non-state actors in discursive framings of migration and the implications for migration policy concerning irregular migrants and/or displaced people.
• The role of state and non-state actors in shaping and changing international norms in domestic settings, focused on how strategic norm resistance influences human rights backsliding in national and/or EU level migration policy and legislation.
• State and non-state responses to migrant rights in migration settings, focused on border states and civil society’s role in the securitisation of migration in transit and receiving communities. Specifically in the cases of Southern European countries.