Engineered Migration Flows and the Liberal Dilemma : A Qualitative Analysis of the Finnish Government’s and the European Commission’s Framing of Russia’s Hybrid Attack on Finland

The use of engineered migration flows as a tool of hybrid warfare raise a complex dilemma for liberal democracies that must balance national security with commitments to human rights and international law. This thesis investigates how the Finnish government and the European Commission framed the instrumentalised migration flows during Russia’s hybrid attack on Finland in late 2023. Using a qualitative research design, the study conducts a frame analysis of press releases from the Finnish government and a 2024 Communication from the European Commission, drawing mainly on Kelly Greenhill’s theory in Weapons of Mass Migration (2010). The thesis central hypothesis posits that Finland and the EU may securitise the instrumentalised migrants in order to justify restrictive measures, while simultaneously emphasising the importance of compliance with international norms. However, the findings challenge the first part of the hypothesis. While they upheld legal norms at the discursive level, they predominantly framed the threat as Russia and its tactic of instrumentalisation, rather than portraying the migrants themselves as threats. This suggests that liberal democracies faced with instrumentalised migration flows may legitimise exceptional measures by framing the phenomenon as a threat, rather than the migrants - which enables them to avoid the dilemma by maintaining a rhetorical commitment to international law while simultaneously pursuing restrictive border policies in possible conflict with the Geneva Conventions.