Geopolitics and migration: the European Union’s misstep

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has increasingly emphasised a strategic dimension of migration. This strategic framing has facilitated the adoption of two novel instruments in EU migration governance: measures to address the so-called instrumentalisation of migration and a mechanism to ensure mandatory solidarity among Member States. Both measures were incorporated into the 2024 Regulation addressing situations of crisis and force majeure. Against the backdrop of these unprecedented developments, this article contributes to the Special Issue’s effort to explore the modalities and implications of an actor-driven geopoliticisation of migration by EU institutions. Drawing on the conceptual framework introduced in the Introduction (Andrione-Moylan, Raube, and Wolfs, this Special Issue), the article examines the discourses, policies, and institutional positioning of EU actors – beginning with the developments that followed the 2021 Belarus border crisis, when a clear link between migration and hybrid threats was first articulated. The article argues that EU actors have increasingly adopted a geopolitical language on migration, highlighting its potential to disrupt the Union and its Member States. Yet this shift raises critical concerns. The actor-driven geopoliticisation of migration has reinforced a securitisation paradigm previously invoked to justify an expanded EU role in the field. However, more than in past instances, this trajectory remains partial, ambiguous, and potentially detrimental to the European integration process. These preliminary findings call for further scholarly reflection and investigation.