Refugees, Security and the European Union Routledge/UACES Contemporary European Studies Series

This book analyses the extent and the modalities of the securitization of asylum-seekers and refugees in the EU.

It argues that the development of the EU asylum policy, far from 'securitizing' asylum-seekers and refugees, has led to the strengthening and codification of several rights for these two categories of persons. However, the securitization of terrorism and the links that have been constructed between asylum, irregular migration and terrorism in the wake of the various terrorist attacks that have taken place in Europe in the last few years have had a significant impact on the ability of asylum-seekers to gain access to asylum systems in the EU. From a theoretical point of view, the book develops an original analytical framework that draws upon and further develops security studies ? more precisely securitization theory ? by connecting it to the literature on policy venues and venue-shopping. It therefore makes a significant contribution to the debates on both securitization and migration.

Empirically examining the entire development of the EU?s policy towards asylum-seekers and refugees, from its origins in 1993, this book will be of great interest to students of European and EU politics, refugees, migration, security, terrorism and counter-terrorism, security studies and International Relations.

Introduction 1. A New Securitization Framework 2. Asylum, Migration and Border Controls in Europe: The Historical Context 3. Asylum, Migration and Border Controls in the EU: The Institutional Context 4. The Development of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS): The Absence of Securitization in the EU Asylum Policy Venue 5. The Securitization of Irregular Migration at the EU Southern Borders 6. Terrorism and the Securitization of Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Conclusion

Sarah Léonard is Professor of Social Sciences at the University of the West of England, UK. She was previously a Lecturer in International Security at the University of Salford, a Marie Curie Research Fellow at Sciences Po Paris, a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Dundee and an Associate Professor in International Affairs at Vesalius College, Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Christian Kaunert is Professor and Chair of Policing and Security as well as Director of the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales, UK. He previously served as Academic Director and Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Professor of International Politics at the University of Dundee, Senior Lecturer at the University of Salford, Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, and Lecturer at Aberystwyth University.