EU Border Policies Between Securitisation and Human Rights: The Impact of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum on BiH and The Western Balkans

Abstract

The thesis explores the intersection of securitisation and human rights within the framework of the European Union (EU) border and migration policies, with a particular focus on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and its future affections for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the broader region, the Western Balkans (WB). Following the adoption of the New Pact, EU MS seek to harmonise border management and asylum procedures, but its policies, especially the externalisation of border control, raises significant human rights concerns. This study critically analyses the evolving dynamics of borders, informed by theoretical frameworks such as borderscapes and bordering processes, to understand the contemporary geopolitics of migration in the region. Reaching a case study of BiH, the research examines the country's transformation from one of the largest 'refugee-producing' nations in the 1990s to a crucial transit hub for migrants between 2012 and 2016. It further explores the impact of EU policies on Bosnia’s border governance, illustrating how these policies may ultimately contribute to the country becoming a space where people on the move find themselves 'trapped.' By integrating desk research, policy analysis, qualitative interviews, and media discourse analysis, the thesis reveals how EU external migration policies shape migration management and human rights outcomes in non-EU countries like BiH, where security and fear gradually come to dominate migration discourse and practices, both at the public and governance levels.