Borders of Citizenship: the Securitization of European Citizenship via the European Neighbourhood Policy

Abstract

Migration is one of the most contested security issues in the European Union, being represented as a threat to European identity (norms and society) and motivating policies or practices which have successfully securitized migration. Citizenship policy has been the primary tool used to institutionalize migrants as a threat by reforming citizenship acquisition and thus membership in Europe to be more difficult and dissuade migration by third country nationals in general. However, securitization of citizenship literature has focused primarily on the role of European member states in these processes, neglecting important practices which are simultaneously occurring at the European level. I argue that important securitization of citizenship practices, using Benjamin J. Muller‟s identity management, occur in European citizenship practices; however, are implemented by border policy or indirect practices driven by the threat of migration. I use the case of the European Neighbourhood Policy to demonstrate this link, as this policy explicitly targets the identity of illegal migrants, their access to European territory, and in turn European citizenship acquisition. This reveals that European citizenship is not only a meaningful and active policy, but is mobilized by identity management practices which further securitization of migration in Europe. I contribute to both securitization of citizenship and border theory by developing sparse literature on securitization of European citizenship as well as reinforcing the link between identity protection and reproduction via border policy.