Help From Far/Far From Help: The Mediterranean Migration Crisis, The UK, and Operation Sophia An Analysis of Securitization, Power, and Biopolitics by KYLE ADRIAN FINDLAY Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Political Science) Acadia University Spring Convocation 2018 © by KYLE ADRIAN FINDLAY, 2018 This thesis by KYLE ADRIAN FINDLAY was defended successfully in an oral examination on APRIL 24, 2018 The examining committee for the thesis was: ________________________ Dr. Jamie Whidden, Chair ________________________ Dr. Lyubov Zhyznomirska, External Examiner ________________________ Dr. Geoffrey Whitehall, Internal Examiner ________________________ Dr. Can E. Mutlu, Supervisor _________________________ Dr. Andrew Biro, Head of Department of Politics This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Political Science) …………………………………………. ii I, KYLE ADRIAN FINDLAY, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to archive, preserve, reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper, or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I undertake to submit my thesis, through my University, to Library and Archives Canada and to allow them to archive, preserve, reproduce, convert into any format, and to make available in print or online to the public for non-profit purposes. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. ______________________________ Author ______________________________ Supervisor ______________________________ Date iii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………V List of Abbreviations……………………..……………………………………………………………………………………VI Acknowledgements…..……….………..……………………………………………………………………………………VII Chapter One: An Introduction….……………………………………………………………..……………………………1 Organizational Structure……………………...……………………………………………………………………………3 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 Chapter Two: Securitization, Migration, and Constructing the Other….……..………………….……13 Theories of Security Studies……………………………………………………………………………………………14 Securitization Theory & Copenhagen School………………………………………………………………….18 Securitization Moves & Speech Acts.……………………………………………………………………………..23 Securitization & Audience………………………………………………………………………………………………28 Securitization & the Societal Sector……………………………………………………………………………….32 British Societal Sector…………………………………………………………………………………………………….42 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...45 Chapter Three: Biopolitics, Power, and Migration…….………………………………..………………………48 Power, Sovereignty, & Migration…………………………………………………………………………………..50 Spaces of Security………………………………………………………………………………………………………….61 The ‘Other’ as a Statistical Category………………………………………………………………………………67 Governmentality & Biopolitics……………………………………………………………………………………….75 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………79 Chapter Four: The Securitization of Migration in the UK………….…………………………………….……81 Securitization of Migration…………………………………………………………………………………………….83 2015 UK General Election………………………………………………………………………………………………86 Securitization Acts- UK Prime Minister & Home Secretary…………………………………….……….88 Migration Debate…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..93 Sustaining the Securitization Act……………………………………………………………………………………98 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….103 Chapter Five: Biopolitics, Operation Sophia, and the UK’s Approach to Migration…….….…..105 Biopolitical Goals of the UK………………………………………………………………………………………….108 UK Government & Proposed Solutions………………………………………………………………………..111 Extra-Territorialization of Borders- Operation Sophia and the UK………………………………..117 Biopolitical Sorting- Migrants, Refugees, Criminals………………………………………………………124 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….128 Chapter Six: Concluding Remarks and a Look to the Future of Migrants in Europe………………130 Findings of Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………….131 Reflections for the Future...………………………………………………………………………………………..134 Bibliography………………………..……………………………………………………..………………………..….……..139 iv Abstract What is the relationship between migrating populations, security policies and practices, and borders in the context of the government of the United Kingdom (UK) vis-á-vis the Mediterranean migration crisis and its participation in Operation Sophia? How does the UK government manage migrant populations with security policies? How is sovereign power exercised over migrating populations, and how is that power managed? To what end do security practices, related to migration, serve, and for whom? What do mechanisms of power and security practices mean for the lives of migrants? How do the methods of categorizing migrants as refugees, economic migrants, and smugglers facilitate (im)migration policies at the national level? These questions are answered through the engagement of Securitization Theory, and theories of Biopolitics and governmentality. Through Securitization Theory analysis, it is demonstrated that securitizing actors within the UK framed the crisis in a way which sees irregular migrant as the referent object of security, and human smugglers as the referent subject of security. This specific framing of this crisis is then coupled with the biopolitical tactics of filtering and controlling migrating populations through Operation Sophia. Analysis of power, biopolitics, and governmentality, further demonstrate that participating in the militarized Operation has facilitated the domestic political goals of reducing net-migration and maintaining secure borders in the UK. This is accomplished through the extra-territorialization of UK borders—an exertion of sovereign power, through maritime involvement in the Mediterranean, and the biopolitical rendering of migrants as a statistical population of the ‘Other’. v List of Abbreviations/Terms BREXIT: British Referendum Procedures for Withdrawing from the European Union CATSA: Canadian Air Transport Authority CEAS: Common European Asylum System DUP: Democratic Unionist Party EEAS: European External Action Service EU: European Union EUNAVFOR-MED: European Naval Force Mediterranean. Also knows as Operation Sophia EURODAC: European Dactyloscopy (Fingerprint Data System) EUROPOL: The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation FRONTEX: European Border and Coast Guard Agency HOC: House of Commons HOL: House of Lords NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization PMO: Prime Minister’s Office SIS: Schengen Information System SNP: Scottish National Party UK: United Kingdom UN: United Nations UNCLOS: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea vi Acknowledgements This thesis is the culmination of more than eight months of work between July 2017 and March 2018. It undoubtedly has been the biggest academic endeavour I have ever undertaken. The knowledge I have gained through research on security, power, biopolitics, and governmentality has given me a deep understanding of the many problems facing the world today around the issue of human migration. In spite of my research, I could not have completed this thesis alone, and therefore giving thanks is in order. Throughout the research and writing phases, my thesis supervisor at Acadia University, Dr. Can E. Mutlu, has shared his wealth of knowledge on security studies, migration, international relations, and so much more. Without his guidance and expertise, this project would never have gotten off the ground let alone be finished. I wish to extend sincere thanks to Dr. Mutlu for his friendship, his advice, his comments, and for the numerous meetings in which he guided me through my frustrations. I also must extend thanks to my loving family for their endless support throughout the course of my studies. My mom, dad, step-mom, step-dad, and brothers and sisters have all been there for me without hesitation. I am eternally grateful for the confidence you have in me. I truly am fortunate to have such a large and supportive family. To my closest friends, thank-you for putting up with my endless “rants” about all things political over the past number of years, not least of which include the subjects of migration, war, Vietnam, Canadian politics, and US Presidential elections. Most of all, thanks for letting me think out loud as I completed this thesis. As a final note, I must acknowledge the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonious Monk for providing the soundtrack to months of work in cafés, libraries, and at home. Kyle A. Findlay- March 2018, Halifax NS vii CHAPTER ONE- An Introduction “[…] you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land […]” (Shire n.d.) This thesis begins with a series of questions; what is the relationship between migrating populations, security policies and practices, and borders? Moreover, how do individual governments —specifically of the United Kingdom— manage migrant populations with security policies? How then is sovereign power exercised over migrating populations, and how is that power managed? To what end do security practices, related to migration, serve, and for whom? What do mechanisms of power and security practices mean for the lives of migrants? How do the methods of categorizing migrants as refugees, economic migrants, and smugglers facilitate (im)migration policies at the national level? Set against the backdrop of the 2015 Mediterranean migration crisis, these questions form the