Migration as Security: Reframing German Policy Toward the MENA Region in an Era of Strategic Uncertainty

Description

This paper examines the evolution of German security policy through the lens of migration, with a specific focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Since the 2015 refugee crisis, migration has become both a security concern and a strategic priority for German policymakers. The analysis applies a blended theoretical framework combining securitization theory, realism, and human security to assess how migration has reshaped border control, counter-radicalization efforts, integration policies, and foreign relations. It argues that Germany’s approach reflects a dynamic and sometimes contradictory balancing act between humanitarian commitments and strategic interests. The paper explores how domestic and external policies are increasingly entangled, highlighting the trade-offs and normative tensions that define Germany’s migration-security nexus. The conclusion calls for a recalibration of German policy to better align security objectives with democratic values and human rights.

Raluca Moldovan is Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations and German Studies of Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj Napoca, where she has been teaching since 2004 at graduate and undergraduate levels. She is a PhD in history with a thesis on the representation of the Holocaust on film. Her more recent research interests include immigration studies, mass media and the contemporary Middle East. She has published numerous scholarly articles on topics ranging from history to mass culture in many Romanian and international journals and collective volumes. She is a member of the European and Romanian Associations of American Studies and the Association for the Study of Nationalities (Columbia University, New York).