Refugees, Security and the European Union

Asylum and migration are amongst the most contentious political issues in Europe and it has been argued that migrants and asylum-seekers have been securitized in the EU and socially constructed as security threats.

This book analyses the extent and the modalities of the securitization of asylum-seekers and refugees in the European Union (EU). It seeks to analytically distinguish the asylum policy of the EU from its policies on migrants and border controls on the basis of the literature on ‘venue-shopping’ and policy venues. The authors argue that the development of the EU asylum policy, far from 'securitizing' asylum-seekers and refugees, has actually led to the strengthening and codification of several rights for these two categories of persons. However, the securitization of irregular migration had led to a significant strengthening of border controls at the EU external borders, which, in turn, has made it more difficult for asylum-seekers and refugees to access the protection granted by asylum systems in the EU.

Empirically examining the entire development of the EU’s policy towards asylum-seekers and refugees, from its origins in 1993, this book will of interest to students and scholars of European politics and security, refugees and migration studies and EU policy-making.