The Governmental Instrumentalization of Migration at the EU's Borders: the Cases of Morocco and Belarus

Abstract

The present final degree project analyses two external borders of the EU to understand what the pre-conditions of the governmental instrumentalization of migratory fluxes are. In order to find what enables the phenomenon, this comparative study looks into the large migration flows instrumentalized by Morocco and Belarus, respectively, that arrived at the EU’s external borders through Spain and Poland. Incorporating evidence from interviews with experts and key informants, and information gathered through a thorough document analysis and literature review, this work demonstrates that there is a common framework in which the instrumentalization of migration becomes a possible strategy. Throughout the analysis, it has been found that undemocratic regimes are more able to instrumentalize migration due to their lack of accountability and their centralization of power. Furthermore, the research shows how the EU member states involved responded to such ‘crises’ with security practices, reinforcing and exacerbating the securitization of migration by part of the EU. Therefore, the project concludes that the construction of migration as a threat and its consequent securitization, evident through governmental practices, is what enables undemocratic governments to use this coercive strategy to serve their own political agenda.