The purpose of this research is to identify the reasons of States to reject the passengers of the boats approaching their land. By asking ‘Why are Boat People a sovereignty issue’ we assume and build the whole research on conviction that Boat People are a sovereignty issue and we need to go into the depth of the reasoning behind this belief, supported by solid theoretical base. The term Boat People is not a novelty and has been used in relation of Vietnamese people or prisoners that were being disembarked on the shores of coastal countries. This term got our attention mostly because of the increasing numbers of boats transporting the passengers and the strongly opinionate medicalization this topic received. We believe that this group of people is particularly exposed to unfair treatment, because of the difficulty to enforce their rights due to still peculiar means of transport. We saw the need to examine the issue on a deeper level and refute the incomplete and often twisted picture offered by media, not providing a comprehensive understanding of what is happening on the boats at the sea.
The thesis is structured into several chapters, from which the biggest attention is drawn to the countries we chose as case studies and an analysis of their policies in relation to other components such as theoretical background and international treaties that are inseparable from the complexity of this issue. Therefore, the beginning of the research paper is dedicated to a global perspective of an issue that is later on reflected and implemented in specific cases of USA and Australia.
We built our research on a baseline specifying and clarification of terms we are using. In relation to our study, we use the term Boat People as a term covering the asylum seekers and refugees and we avoid elaborating on debate about the economic migrants, as that is not the main target group of our research. Our key concept is the sovereignty through which we explain the nature and characteristics of States chosen and that gives us perspective on their interactions and relation towards the international community.
Our research brought us to conclusions that sovereignty of States is a powerful tool in terms of securitization and performing the actions that benefit the self-interest of States. We express that current trends might have a worrisome implications on the future treatment of Boat People – asylum seekers and refugees. Such trends will need future interventions of international community to avoid the degradation of humanity and the rights that were fought for with great dedication.