Weapons or Victims? The impact of weaponized migration on the European Union’s self-perception and identity

Abstract: This thesis examines how the European Parliament portrays weaponized migration, a phenomenon in which states mobilize migrants against another state to force concessions. Furthermore, the thesis analyses how instances of weaponized migration impact European identity. The theory of ontological security is applied to analyse the threat constructions and changes in self-perception these incidents may trigger. Morocco’s weaponization of migration against Spain and Belarus’s weaponization against Poland are analysed through a comparative research design. The results display that Belarus’s actions caused greater ontological insecurity for the European Parliament than Morocco’s. While the political left views the migrants as victims in both situations, the right perceives them as an existential threat even when the coercer state is not viewed as dangerous. The thesis also reveals that the left will attempt to reinforce the perceived EU identity of being a human rights defender and global norm-setter. The political right will instead form an alternative identity based on being a protector of EU citizens, keeping the threat of migrants and the coercer state outside EU territory at any cost.