At the Nexus of Security and Migration - Italy’s Immigration Governance in the External Realm : Legal, Political, and Ethical Challenges of the Italian Engagement with Third Countries

This Thesis intends to examine the evolution of migration management in the Euro-Mediterranean context, focusing on Italy’s pivotal role under the broader framework of the European Union, with the involvement of international agencies and non-governmental organisations. Throughout the investigation, the external dimension of migration control emerges as a core mechanism, increasingly legitimised through a populist and nationalist rhetoric. The research, therefore, adopts securitisation theory and the policy mobility framework to trace how migration governance instruments, narratives, and practices circulate and are adapted across different institutional and geographical settings. With respect to the methodology, this study employs Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to uncover the discursive constructions that underpin policy shifts, focusing on how language is used to legitimise externalisation practices and the redefinition of responsibilities. By combining policy analysis with discourse examination, the research explores how security concerns and political pressures reshape legal obligations, humanitarian considerations, and the boundaries of responsibility. The findings reveal a complex interplay between national interests, supranational coordination, and transnational policy diffusion that redefines the governance of human mobility, with significant implications for asylum rights, regional stability, and international norms.