Pushbacks, Procedures, and Power: Constructing Legitimacy and Accountability in EU and Greek Responses to Human Rights Allegations at Sea

Naoum, Panagiota

4. semester

International Relations, MSc.

2025

2025-05-28

14789 pages

At the edges of Europe, where the Aegean Sea separates Greece from Turkey, a quiet but relentless crisis unfolds. Migrants and refugees, fleeing danger in search of safety, are often met not with rescue but with resistance, pushed back from EU shores in violation of international law. These actions, though widely reported by journalists and human rights organizations, are met with carefully crafted responses from the institutions involved. It is within these responses — their silences, justifications, and narratives — that this thesis finds its focus. This thesis examines how EU institutions and Greek authorities construct public discourses of legitimacy and accountability in the face of mounting human rights allegations. Using critical discourse analysis and a close reading of official communications and NGO reports from 2020 to 2022, it explores how language becomes a tool of power, shaping not only perceptions of legality and responsibility but also the visibility of those affected. What emerges is a picture of institutional self-preservation. Legality is presented as procedure, humanitarianism is framed through the lens of security, and accountability is diffused across bureaucratic lines. At the same time, human rights organizations respond with counter-narratives built on testimony, legal norms, and moral urgency. This thesis argues that what is at stake is not just the fate of those at sea but the credibility of the values the EU claims to uphold. At Europe’s borders, legitimacy is not simply held. It is performed, contested, and often, quietly denied.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) ; EU border governance ; Humanitarian Governance ; Pushbacks ; Securitization ; EU accountability

Download
View record in AAU Student Projects