Globalization versus Securitization: Borders and Migration - A Case Study of Hungarian Policy towards Migration 2015-2019

This paper aims to investigate the issue of migration from two different perspectives. The first one is the globalization perspective, which calls for the removal of borders in front of the movement of money, business and people and believes that the presence of any restrictions on the movement of people, especially immigrants from the scourge and tragedies of wars, are incompatible with the principles and values called for by the liberals. The second one is the securitization perspective, which transforms the issue of migration from being a social and humanitarian issue into a security issue. This tendency is enhanced through the discourse and rhetoric of the securitizing actor or group of actors who portray it as an immediate security danger, which threatens both the society and the state. In this regard, the paper examines briefly the European policies towards migration issue, especially since 2015. Through focusing on Hungarian policies towards migration issue as a case study, the main contribution of this paper is to examine to what extent this case reflects one of two perspectives; globalization or securitization in dealing with this important global issue. Accordingly, the paper’s methodology is based on using the case study as the unit of analysis and utilizing discourse analysis and explanatory approach. Through analyzing the Hungarian leaders’ discourse and policies on the migration issue, the paper concluded that the Hungarian policies regarding migration have precisely reflected an honest application of the securitization theory and have been very far from the principles of liberalism and globalization. Keywords: Migration, Asylum Seekers, Hungary, European Agenda on Migration, Globalization, Securitization, Syrian Refugees Journal: Eurasian Journal of Social Sciences