Securitization of Migration

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Securitization of Migration

• Tasneem Siddiqui
• Professor, Dept. of Political Science
• and
• Chair, RMMRU
• University of Dhaka

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• Securitization is a deliberate action of
  purposeful actors who frame new or previously
  ignored challenges as existential threats to the
  survival and well being of people, state and
  international community.
• Interested actors through speech act create
  justification for requiring emergency measures
  and state actions outside the normal bounds of
  political procedure.
• Outcome of securitization are greater resource
  allocation of the issue and militarization of the
  issue.

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Approaches to Securitization of Migration

• Teitelbaum (2002) Large scale population
  movements can effect the cohesion of societies
  and become source of inter-state and intra-state
  conflict
• Weiner (1990) four types of situations
• Oppose the regime of their country of origin
• Perceived as political threat to a particular
  regime of the receiving country
• Viewed as threat to culture of receiving
  countries
• Seen as exerting pressure on social services and
  economic opportunities

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Approaches to Securitization of Migration (contd.)

• Cronin (2003) Freer movements across boundaries
  are enabling terrorists to carry out attacks more
  easily.
• Kerb and Levy (2001) Linked illegal weapons
  smuggling, drug trafficking and other
  transnational criminal activities with migration.

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Approaches to Securitization of Migration (contd.)

• Migration identified as source of existential
  threat
• Calls for action outside the normal bound
  political procedure
• Adoption of emergency measures

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Approaches to Securitization of Migration (contd.)

• Buzan (1998) Threat to societys dominant
  identity
• Refrained from securitizing migration

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What is Securitization of Migration?

• Construction of a security knowledge that links
  together various day to day social threats like
  arms smuggling, drug trafficking, terrorism with
  the image of immigrant as the nexus of all fears.

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Human Security and Securitization

• Human security approach primarily concerns the
  variety of threats to survival of individuals
  rather than security of the state from external
  aggression.
• UNDP Report 1994 Individual is the principal
  referent object
• Individuals security in daily life

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Seven Elements

• Economic security
• Food security
• Health security
• Environmental security
• Personal security
• community security and
• political security

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Other Variants

• Canada
• Norway
• Japan

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South Asian Conclusions So Far

• Migration poses new challenges for
• policymakers in 21st century
• Migration challenges cannot be addressed
• through securitizing
• Securitization of migration does not
• ensure increased level of state security
• Securitization brings in new threats to
• human security of migrants
• Challenges that migration throws should be
• addressed through regular political and
• administrative processes

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Conclusions so far (contd.)

• Migration should be de-securitized
• Opportunities for safe migration should be
  improved
• Better governance of migration at international,
  regional and national level should be ensured
  (Ratification of 1990 UN convention on rights of
  migrants workers)
• Social and cultural adaptation can address the
  threat to dominant
• Identity of receiving societies