Archive - Conference Papers

Much has been written about the securitisation and militarisation of EU borders and its effects for human rights, transparency, and accountability. Recently, however, scholars noted another development at Europe’s borders: migrants are not intercepted, but instead saved, further controls and externalisation do not serve only EU security, but importantly also migrants’ survival. The ‘humanitarianisation’ of the border, and its securitisation, seem to co-exist (Walters, 2011). How they stand in tension and might yet mutually support each other in EU border governance is the object of this research project. The question ‘what is the relationship between humanitarianisation and (de)securitisation in the EU border regime?’ will be explored with a particular focus on Frontex, an important protagonist in both developments. ‘Nonlocal ethnography’ will guide my theoretical reflections, and allow me to take an eclectic approach (Feldman, 2012). I will analyse documents, emails, statements, press releases, and informal conversations, while also conducting participant observations. Through this, I will trace the interrelationship of humanitarian and securitarian discourses, rationales, and practices as they are articulated and performed in relation to Frontex’s work. Examining these dynamics means ‘complicat[ing] the linear narrative’ of ever-greater controls, and exploring the contradictory, multi-faceted, and open-ended negotiation of the border regime (Walters, 2011).