Rethinking Securitisation of Migration through Research into the Global Governance of Stowaways

The securitization framework has proved indispensable in analysing migration governance and border control efforts over the past two decades. Both discursive and ‘post-discursive’ approaches within the securitization framework have been effectively utilised to enrich our understanding of contemporary activities carried out in the name of securing borders and controlling migration. The securitization framework, in conjunction with other analytical approaches, was also used in my research into the global governance of stowaways. However, the necessary encounter between securitization and the governance of stowaways also exposed certain limitations of the securitization framework. One of these limitations includes the inherent ‘presentism’ embedded in the framework. The governance of stowaways, which has a long history, necessitated a reconsideration of the presentism embedded in all strands of the framework in relation to both the discursive construction of stowaways as well as the technologies of border control such as externalization and carrier sanctions. In addition, the truly globalised nature of shipping, and the governance of stowaways involving a multiplicity of actors, also made prominent the inherent eurocentrism and state-centrism pointed out by others. Analysing these limitations in detail, this paper compels us to reconsider core assumptions inherent in common conceptualisations of the securitization of migration and borders. The paper also highlights how I transcended these limitations in my research while retaining the analytical utility of the securitization framework.