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Migration, Security Challenges, and National Security

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Handbook of Security Science

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Abstract

Migration remains a complex and contentious topic in security studies. This chapter examines the evolution of research and scholar debate on the migration-security nexus, questioning the perceived insecurities. To do so, it analyzes the factors underlying the securitization of migration issues, considering two divergent paradigms of national security and human security. It begins by setting the debate in the larger context of the deep transformations emerged in the post-Cold War world, impacting on the conceptualization of security. New security perspectives and agendas were developed in the 1990s and then after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, creating a renovated interest in migration.

After summarizing the existing paths in the literature, it then assesses the migration-security nexus in the national security strategies of five countries – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the USA. A qualitative analysis shows that migration issues are approached dissimilarly in these countries. Nevertheless, the object of security tends to be the state and not the migrants. Thus, the existing national security strategies rather consider border control, surveillance, and the right of admission than the humanitarian intervention.

The last concluding sections identify some challenges concerning the politicization and securitization of migration issues. Additionally, two suggestions are made about the implications for future research regarding desecuritization and the inclusion of human security assumptions inside national security strategies. Currently, national security strategies contribute for the securitization of migration as they sustain a narrative for migration issues, especially focusing on state sovereignty and national interests.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Portuguese Institute of International Relations, NOVA University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Estevens

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  1. João Estevens
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Correspondence to João Estevens .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Anthony J. Masys

Section Editor information

  1. School of Public Affairs, The Pennsylvania State University – Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, USA

    Alexander Siedschlag

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Estevens, J. (2022). Migration, Security Challenges, and National Security. In: Masys, A.J. (eds) Handbook of Security Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91875-4_79

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