Humanitarianism, Human Rights, and Security Examining the relationship between humanitarianism, human rights, and security in the governance of borders and migration, this book analyses the case of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), challenging the common assumption that humanitarianism and human rights provide a critical basis for countering securitisation. Arguing that these are not three opposing discourses and modes of governing, the author contributes to a deeper understanding of their connections and combined effects in border governance. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis, the book offers three perspectives on Frontex’s changing relationship to humanitarianism and human rights. In doing so, it provides a multifaceted account of Frontex and its gradual appropriation of what are often considered pro-migrant discourses. Combining organisational sociology with a Foucauldian analysis, the book speaks to ongoing debates on continuity and change in the security field and provides insights into studying security organisations more generally. Drawing on insights from Critical Migration and Border Studies, Critical Security Studies, Critical Humanitarianism and Human Rights Studies, and Organisational Sociology, the book will generate interest to multiple disciplines, including Sociology, International Relations, Politics, Anthropology, European Studies, and Geography. Nina Perkowski is working as a Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Interventions Edited by Jenny Edkins Aberystwyth University Nick Vaughan-Williams University of Warwick T he Series provides a forum for innovative and interdisciplinary work that engages with alternative critical, post-structural, feminist, postcolonial, psychoanalytic and cultural approaches to international relations and global politics. In our first 5 years we have published 60 volumes. W e aim to advance understanding of the key areas in which scholars working within broad critical post-structural traditions have chosen to make their interven- tions, and to present innovative analyses of important topics. Titles in the series engage with critical thinkers in philosophy, sociology, politics and other disciplines and provide situated historical, empirical and textual studies in international politics. W e are very happy to discuss your ideas at any stage of the project: just contact us for advice or proposal guidelines. Proposals should be submitted directly to the Series Editors: • Jenny Edkins ([email protected]) and • Nick Vaughan-Williams ([email protected]). ‘ As Michel Foucault has famously stated, “knowledge is not made for under- standing; it is made for cutting” In this spirit The Edkins – Vaughan-Williams Interventions series solicits cutting edge, critical works that challenge main- stream understandings in international relations. It is the best place to contribute post disciplinary works that think rather than merely recognize and affirm the world recycled in IR’s traditional geopolitical imaginary.’ M ichael J. Shapiro, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, USA A New Political Imagination M aking the Case T ony Fry and Madina Tlostanova H umanitarianism, Human Rights, and Security T he Case of Frontex Nina Perkowski For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/series/INT Humanitarianism, Human Rights, and Security The Case of Frontex Nina Perkowski First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Nina Perkowski The right of Nina Perkowski to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Perkowski, Nina, author. Title: Humanitarianism, human rights and security : the case of Frontex / Nina Perkowski. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Series: Interventions | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020037809 (print) | LCCN 2020037810 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367195038 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429202841 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Humanitarianism—Europe. | Human rights—Europe. | Border s ecurity—Europe. | European Border and Coast Guard Agency. | Europe—Emigrants and Immigration. Classification: LCC BJ1475.3 .P42 2021 (print) | LCC BJ1475.3 (ebook) | DDC 201/.76—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037809 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037810 ISBN: 978-0-367-19503-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-20284-1 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of figures vi About the author vii Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 1 Humanitarianism, human rights, and security 17 2 Frontex as a compromise 41 3 Frontex as protector of Europe, saviour of lives, and promoter of rights 63 4 Frontex as a fragmented organisation 106 5 The effects of Frontex’s re-positioning 135 Conclusion: reconsidering critique 152 Index 163 Figures 0.1 Word counts of rights-related terms in Frontex’s annual reports over time 4 0.2 Word counts of rescue-related terms in Frontex’s annual reports over time 4 0.3 Word counts of security-related terms in Frontex’s annual reports over time 5 0.4 Word counts per page in Frontex’s annual reports over time 5 1.1 Mapping differentiation in practices of humanitarianism 28 About the author Nina Perkowski is working as a Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Prior to this, from 2017 to 2019, she was a Lecturer at the Chair of Criminology at the University of Hamburg. From 2015 to 2017, she was a Research Fellow in the project Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by Boat as well as the Research Coordina- tor of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Mediterranean Migration Research Programme at the University of Warwick. Nina studied at the Uni- versiteit Maastricht, University of California in Berkeley, and the University of Oxford. She holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. In her research, she focuses on how borders are drawn, contested, and navigated within and around European societies, critically examining the interplay of border secu- rity and border violence in different contexts. Her research has been published in international peer-reviewed journals such as S ecurity Dialogue, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and Journal of Common Market Studies. Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the support of my colleagues, friends, and family along the way. First of all, I would like to thank Christina Boswell and Andrew Neal, who accompanied me as supervisors throughout writ- ing the thesis this book is based on, and whose critical comments and questions helped me sharpen my arguments and my thinking. I would also like to thank the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh for award- ing me the very first Chrystal Macmillan Studentship that made the research for this book possible. My heartfelt thanks go to the friends, colleagues, and office mates who made life in Edinburgh what it was: Joanna Wiseman, Alessio Berto- lini, Anna Pultar, Roberto Grasso, Lisa Schweiger, Henrike Hirnstein, Supurna Banerjee, and so many others. As my PhD funding ended, I was fortunate in being offered a job at Warwick University, which allowed me not only to continue pay- ing my bills, but also to become part of a vibrant team of academics who share my interest in EUropean border governance and migration. Vicki Squire, Nick Vaughan-Williams, and Dallal Stevens offered their guidance and understanding for my ongoing battle to finish the PhD, as well as nudging me to think about life beyond submission. When returning to Germany and updating the research underpinning this book, I found wonderful people and two great institutions to connect with: sincere thanks go to Christine Hentschel, Susanne Krasmann, and Vojta Drapal at the University of Hamburg, and to Ursula Schröder, Martin Kahl, and my colleagues at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Studies at the University of Hamburg. Transcending specific places in which I lived and worked, I found a stimulating academic community in both critical security studies and migration and border studies. Speaking about my work to Veit Schwab, Maurice Stierl, Stephan Scheel, Damien Simmoneau, Lorenzo Pezzani, Martina Tazzioli, Celine Cantat, Didier Bigo, Julien Jeandesboz, Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Francesco Ragazzi, Thierry Balzacq, and Emmanuel-Pierre Guittet, among so many others, has enriched my understandings and analysis. The many conversations I have had with colleagues in the kritnet network who share not only my research interests but also my anger about EUropean border governance and my desire to contest the division between “activism” and “academia” to work towards political change have been incredibly rewarding and inspiring. Acknowledgements ix T here have been many people who have been by my side for much longer than this research project, and who have kept me grounded, loved, and supported throughout it. Thanks for our conversations, laughter and tears, marathon Skype sessions, emails, packages and postcards, your many visits, and your determi- nation to remain connected to me despite the physical distance. You have been a never-ending source of support, love, comfort, joy, and self-reflection. Linda Avena, Mo Zündorf, and Geraldine Lamfalussy and her wonderful family, Mari- anne Kraußlach, Maren Kurschat, Charlotte Jacobi, Sophie Hinger, Franzi Förster, Henni Freckmann: I thank you with all my heart. My family has been my rock throughout. The knowledge to have a place to return to at any time, under any cir- cumstances, has been invaluable. I am incredibly privileged to be able to count on my parents’ and brothers’ unwavering support, laughter and silliness, encourage- ment, and open arms. Finally, my thanks go to Jacopo, who has been on my side for much of this project and has had to endure most as I was writing up the thesis and revising this manuscript. I don’t know how I would have kept going without your boundless patience, love, and support. And to our little Leo, who has brought so much joy into our lives and has made sure I remember that life is more than this book: I cannot thank both of you enough. Parts of chapters 1 and 5 were previously published in: Perkowski, Nina. Fron- tex and the Convergence of Humanitarianism, Human Rights and Security. Secu- rity Dialogue 49(6): 457–75. Copyright © 2018 Nina Perkowski. Sage Journals. DOI: 10.1177/0967010618796670 Parts of chapter 4 were previously published in: Perkowski, Nina. “There Are Voices in Every Direction”: Organizational Decoupling in Frontex. JCMS: Jour- nal of Common Market Studies 57(5): 1182–99. Copyright © 2019 University Association for Contemporary European Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12897