Securitization of Migration Perceptions of Police and Market Actors in Greece: A Comparative Study in the Islands of Crete and Lesvos


Georgia Dimari
Stylianos-Ioannis Tzagkarakis
Apostolos Kamekis
Ilias Pappas
Leonidas D. Kotroyannos
Résumé

Migration is a multifaceted issue with a variety of research implications. In the case of Greece, the migration / refugee crisis of 2015 has been the subject of security centered policies since its beginning. Migration practices in Greece in conjunction with official statements (speech acts) from political and generally security actors, such as the police, suggest that migration in Greece has been securitized. The Greek police are a significant security actor that conveys important security messages and exerts significant influence on the public, since their role lies in the maintaining of public order. Yet, their role in the securitization of migration in Greece has been largely unexplored. Market actors are also an important driving force in attitude shaping at the labor market. Thus, the aim of this paper is twofold. First to explore and illustrate the perceptions and attitudes of the Greek police pertaining to migration and its relation to security and second to investigate whether these perceptions do exert influence on Greek market actors in the respective research areas (Crete and Lesvos), thus impeding the migrants’/refugees’ integration in the labor market of Greece. In order to do so, a mixed methodology is used, applying both quantitative (structured interviews with police officers) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs) methods, so as to investigate whether police officers’ stances reinforce market actors’ perceptions on refugees with an emphasis on the economic sector of security as referred to by the Copenhagen School. The research was carried out in the Greek islands of Crete and Lesvos. These diverse geographical areas were chosen due to their different socio-economic conditions as well as due to their different migrant/refugee flows, hence providing fertile ground for optimal research outcomes.

Article Details
  • Rubrique
  • Articles
Téléchargements
Les données relatives au téléchargement ne sont pas encore disponibles.
Bibliographies de l'auteur
Georgia Dimari, University of Crete
Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete. Researcher of the Centre for Political Research and Documentation (KEPET).
Stylianos-Ioannis Tzagkarakis, University of Crete
Teaching Fellow and Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete. Researcher of the Centre for Political Research and Documentation (KEPET).
Apostolos Kamekis, University of Crete
Researcher of the Centre for Human Rights (KEADIK) of the University of Crete.
Ilias Pappas, University of Crete
Ilias Pappas is PhD Candidate at the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete.
Leonidas D. Kotroyannos, University of Crete
Sociologist, PhD Candidate at the Department of Primary Education of the University of Crete.
Références
Bigo, D. (2002). Security and immigration: Toward a critique of the governmentality of unease. Alternatives, 27(1_suppl), 63-92.
Buzan, B. (2008). People, States & Fear: An agenda for international security studies in the post-cold war era. Ecpr Press.
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., Wæver, O., & De Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Collective, C. A. S. E. (2006). Critical approaches to security in Europe: A networked manifesto. Security Dialogue, 37(4), 443-487.
Dimari, G. (2020). The Securitization of Migration in Greece 2011-2019: A Discourse and Practice Analysis. European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities, 9 (4): 1-13.
ECRE (2020). The other Greek island: Squalid conditions and arbitrary deportation in Crete. Available at: /https://www.ecre.org/the-other-greek-island-squalid-conditions-and-arbitrary-deportation-in-crete/ [Accessed: November 2, 2020]
Kalantzi, F. (2017). The Securitization of immigration in Greece (Doctoral dissertation, University of Macedonia. Department of Balkan, Slavic and Eastern Studies). (In Greek).
Karyotis, G. (2012). Securitization of migration in Greece: process, motives, and implications. International Political Sociology, 6(4), 390-408.
Kotroyannos, D., Tzagkarakis, S. I., Kamekis, A., Dimari, G. & Mavrozacharakis, E. (2019). Identification and Categorization of Refugees’ Integration Prospects in the Greek Socio-Economic System. Case Study in Mytilene and Crete Islands. European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities - EQPAM, 8 (3): 1-14.
Lenoard, S. (2011, February). FRONTEX and the securitization of migrants through practices. in Paper presented at the Migration Working Group Seminar, European University Institute, Florence (Vol. 9).
Léonard, S., & Kaunert, C. (2010). Reconceptualizing the audience in securitization theory. In Securitization Theory (pp. 71-90). Routledge.
Ministry of Digital Telecommunications and Information Policy (2018). Capture of the national picture of the situation on the refugee / immigration issue on 9/9/2018: Picture of the situation of the Eastern Aegean islands on Sunday, September 9, 2018. Available at: http://mindigital.gr/index.php/%CF%80%CF%81% CE%BF%CF%83%CF%86%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C-%CE%B6%CE%AE%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B1-refugee-crisis/2879-apotyposi-tis-ethnikis-eikonas-katastasis-gia-to-prosfygiko-metanasteftiko-zitima-tin-9-9-2018 [Accessed: November 15, 2020].
Nations Unies. Haut Commissariat aux droits de l'homme, United Nations Staff, & United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2004). Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police: Expanded Pocket Book on Human Rights for the Police (Vol. 5). United Nations Publications.
Taureck, R. (2006). Securitization theory and securitization studies. Journal of International relations and Development, 9(1), 53-61.
UNHCR (2015). A million refugees and migrants flee to Europe in 2015. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2015/12/567918556/million-refugees-migrants-flee-europe-2015.html [Accessed: November 12, 2020].
UNHCR (2018). British Royals visit refugee accommodation project on Crete. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2018/5/5af566e54/%E2%80%9D//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-R6MF%E2%80%9D [Accessed: November 23, 2020].
Articles les plus lus par le même auteur ou la même autrice