Pushbacks, Procedures, and Power: Constructing Legitimacy and Accountability in EU and Greek Responses to Human Rights Allegations at Sea
Author
Naoum, Panagiota
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
14789
Abstract
Along the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, migrants and refugees fleeing danger often report being turned back from European shores rather than rescued—actions widely described as violations of international law. This thesis does not investigate individual incidents at sea; instead, it analyzes how institutions speak about them. It asks how EU bodies and Greek authorities build public narratives that claim legality and responsibility when faced with mounting human rights allegations. Using critical discourse analysis—an approach that studies how language shapes power and meaning—and a close reading of official statements, press releases, and NGO reports from 2020 to 2022, the study shows how words frame what counts as legal, who is responsible, and whose experiences become visible. The analysis finds a pattern of institutional self‑preservation: legality is presented as compliance with procedures, humanitarian concern is reframed through the lens of border security, and accountability is dispersed across complex bureaucratic structures. At the same time, human rights organizations advance counter‑narratives grounded in testimonies, legal standards, and moral urgency. The thesis argues that what is at stake is not only the fate of people at sea but also the credibility of the values the European Union claims to uphold. At Europe’s borders, legitimacy is not simply assumed; it is performed, contested, and at times quietly denied.
Langs det Ægæiske Hav mellem Grækenland og Tyrkiet fortæller migranter og flygtninge, der flygter fra fare, ofte, at de bliver afvist fra Europas kyster i stedet for reddet – på måder, der bredt beskrives som brud på folkeretten. Dette speciale undersøger ikke de enkelte hændelser, men hvordan institutioner taler om dem. Det spørger, hvordan EU‑institutioner og græske myndigheder opbygger offentlige fortællinger, der gør krav på lovlighed og ansvar, når de mødes af voksende menneskerettighedsanklager. Med kritisk diskursanalyse – en tilgang, der undersøger, hvordan sprog former magt og betydning – og nærlæsning af officielle udmeldinger, pressemeddelelser og NGO‑rapporter fra 2020 til 2022 viser studiet, hvordan ord rammesætter, hvad der tæller som lovligt, hvem der er ansvarlig, og hvem der bliver synlige. Analysen finder et mønster af institutionel selvopretholdelse: lovlighed fremstilles som overholdelse af procedurer, humanitære hensyn ses gennem et sikkerhedsperspektiv, og ansvar spredes ud i komplekse bureaukratiske strukturer. Samtidig fremfører menneskerettighedsorganisationer modfortællinger baseret på vidnesbyrd, retsnormer og moralsk alvor. Specialet argumenterer for, at der ikke kun står menneskers skæbne på spil til søs, men også troværdigheden af de værdier, som EU siger, at det står for. Ved Europas grænser er legitimitet ikke givet; den udføres, bestrides og til tider stilfærdigt afvises.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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