International Law and European Migration Policy: Where Is the Terrorism Risk?

Abstract

This article examines how international law in form of treaties deals with the intersection of the three concepts. Our hypothesis is that international law, in the form of treaties, has been reluctant to engage with national security when dealing with migration, leaving this to national law. Instead, the intersection of national security—most commonly in the form of concerns about terrorism and migration—takes place in political discourse, which acts as a passerelle for various types of state violence against people classified or suspected of being migrants. We examine this mechanism that we call an insecurity continuum driven by the politics of fear in a European context. This is a politics that takes place outside of international law but has the effect of limiting access by individuals to international law protections, particularly in the case of people who claim international protection against persecution or torture.

Europe and the Contested Politics of Migration: Between Logistification and Global Justice

“…However, researchers argue that the crisis in reality triggered a further push for implementing already agreed policies: 'measures intended to preserve the Schengen area coincided with both short-term responses to the refugee crisis as well as to a longer-term strategy for handling migration in the years to come' (Ceccorulli 2019: 317). According to these analyses, the recent securitisation merely follows a long history of EU migration and asylum policies, which is reinforced and re-legitimised in times of self-defined 'crisis' (see for example Bigo and Guild 2019).…”

Migration, Security Challenges, and National Security

“…This scenario existed both in the USA and Europe in recent years. So, those migrants and asylum seekers may be caught up in a bureaucratic culture that reinforces their insecurity, deals excessively with possible terrorism risks, and delays the international protection (Bigo and Guild 2019). When it comes to irregular migration, it is undeniable that human survival, human dignity, and human development are even more at stake for those migrating into what may be a harrowing journey.…”

Extremism as a form of legal nihilism

“…Зараз терористи активно використовують потік біженців для вторгнення до Європи. У результаті сфера прикордонного контролю та управління міграцією стає все більш жорсткою щодо потреб у захисті людей, які потребують такого захисту [13]. Деякі вчені навіть вважають, що мігрантце потенційний терорист, який ховається серед натовпу мігрантів, а терорист -це потенційний мігрант, який готовий перебратися до Європи у будь-який момент [14].…”