Books by Maciej Stępka
This open access book investigates the complexity and the modalities of securitization of migrati... more This open access book investigates the complexity and the modalities of securitization of migration and border control at the EU level. It discusses and compares how different EU institutions and agencies have been deploying different logics of security, e.g. humanitarianism or management of risk, while framing increased migratory flows and so called migration crisis as a security problem. The book argues that the (re)development of EU migration and border control policies in response to increased migratory flows of 2015 have revealed an increasingly tangled nature of securitization of migration in the EU. This is reflected in the intertwining of security logics where migrants and human mobility tend to be securitized through different, sometimes multiple, interpretative lenses at different stages of policy framing. From a theoretical point of view, the book develops a fresh analytical perspective that further contributes to burgeoning discussion on securitization theory. By bridging the literature on policy framing and securitization it makes a significant contribution to the debates on both securitization and migration. As such this book is of great interest to students, academics, policy makers and all those working in the fields of EU politics, migration, security, and international relations.
Papers by Maciej Stępka
Guarded Centres for Foreigners are the key instrument of detention policy in Poland. They are oft... more Guarded Centres for Foreigners are the key instrument of detention policy in Poland. They are often considered as one of the key and at the same time most secretive forms of securitization and criminalization of foreigners. With panoptical practices of (in)direct observation and robust electronic surveillance the centres are tasked with containing and producing a (self)disciplined, knowable, governable and deportable immigrant, who can be swiftly expelled from the Polish territory. Building on ethnographic research, including interviews and photographic material, this article explores specific practices and technologies of surveillance in Polish detention centres by describing and discussing how they are deployed by detention personnel. It overviews different types of direct surveillance (e.g direct observation, counting, inspection), at the same time discussing the role of monitoring technologies, which have significantly influenced the practices and spaces of detention. The article concludes that further development of electronic surveillance in the Polish guarded centres may be inevitable and lead to further "panopticonization" of detention in Poland.
Białystok Legal Studies, 2023
In 2020 the New Pact on Migration and Asylum was presented as a normalization of EU migration, as... more In 2020 the New Pact on Migration and Asylum was presented as a normalization of EU migration, asylum and border management policies in the EU, a much-needed reform which is supposed to strike a balance between security, solidarity and protection of human lives. Th e aim of this article is to investigate to what extent the proposed reform is changing the modes and trajectories of the securitization of migration in the EU. In doing so, it focuses on specifi c security logics promoted in the text, discussing how diff erent iterations of security are strengthened and/or marginalized in the EU securitizing framework. Building on the approach of 'securitization as the work of framing' , the article indicates that the pact has strengthened the risk-management and resilience-centred security logics while at the same time downplaying the role of humanitarianism. It also reveals a strong role for 'exceptionality' as a security logic, which has gained prominence especially in relation to crisis management and a wider application of militarized and robust measures.
Politeja, 2022
The concept of resilience has been commonly recognized as a new leitmotif of security governance ... more The concept of resilience has been commonly recognized as a new leitmotif of security governance in the European Union. In the aftermath of the so-called ‘migration crisis’, resilience has spilled over migration and border management, promoting the notions of resilient Schengen and broadly understood technologization of border management, to name a few. This trend has been only strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic and the most recent border and refugee crises on the EU eastern border, which have mainstreamed the notions of anticipation, preparedness, and the ability to withstand shocks and disturbances external to the EU as a whole. Building on these developments, this article discusses how anticipatory governance interlocks with resilience within the newly proposed EU migration crisis management framework. In doing so, it provides a more nuanced picture of the EU’s post-2015 and 2016 approach to human mobility, asylum, and border protection. Such a take will also allow us to see how exactly the EU has adapted to new migratory circumstances, while conceptualizing the uncertainties related to increased migratory flows and operationalizing specific anticipatory and resilience-centered policy responses.
Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, 2021
Rezyliencja, rozumiana jako zdolność do przetrwania i adap-tacji do sytuacji kryzysowych, dostarc... more Rezyliencja, rozumiana jako zdolność do przetrwania i adap-tacji do sytuacji kryzysowych, dostarcza inspiracji do zmiany sposobu my-ślenia o bezpieczeństwie i współczesnych zagrożeniach. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przeanalizowanie ewolucji i specyfiki myśli rezyliencyjnej w pol-skim dyskursie strategicznym. W artykule zostało wykorzystane podejście ramowo-narracyjne, oparte na materiale tekstowym pozyskanym z polskich strategii bezpieczeństwa narodowego oraz dokumentów o charakterze stra-tegicznym, opublikowanych w latach 2007-2020. Wyniki analizy wskazują, że polskie podejście do rezyliencji ma konserwatywny charakter i bazuje głów-nie na strategii "utrzymania" status quo państwa w trakcie kryzysu. Do najważ-niejszych wątków rezyliencyjnych należą ochrona i odporność infrastruktury krytycznej; rozproszenie i upowszechnienie odpowiedzialności za bezpie-czeństwo wśród organizacji społecznych i podmiotów prywatnych oraz bu-dowa rezyliencji wspólnotowej, rozumianej jako zwiększenie zdolności od-pornościowych obywateli i ich najbliższej wspólnoty. Polska myśl strategiczna marginalizuje elementy adaptacyjne i rekonstrukcyjne, skupiając się głównie na wzmacnianiu odporności poszczególnych elementów państwa. Polskie podejście do rezyliencji nadal wymaga uszczegółowienia, najlepiej w postaci wyspecjalizowanej strategii dotyczącej zwiększenia zdolności odpornościo-wych i adaptacyjnych państwa.
Przegląd Politologiczny, 2021
W dobie przewlekłych i cyklicznych kryzysów takich jak epidemie, wzmożone ruchy migracyjne, czy z... more W dobie przewlekłych i cyklicznych kryzysów takich jak epidemie, wzmożone ruchy migracyjne, czy zmiany klimatyczne rezyliencja stała się atrakcyjnym i zyskującym na popularności podejściem do bezpieczeństwa. Dostarcza ona inspiracji do zmiany sposobu myślenia o zarządzaniu kryzysowym, rozproszeniu odpowiedzialności za bezpieczeństwo czy temporalności zagrożeń. Re- zyliencja skupia uwagę na wspólnotowych i indywidualnych mechanizmach radzenia sobie z kryzy- sami, adaptacji do ciężkich warunków oraz powrocie do jakiejś formy normalnego stanu po okresie kryzysu. Celem artykułu jest przegląd i przybliżenie koncepcji rezyliencji, zaoferowanie syntezy obecnego rozumienia tej koncepcji oraz porównanie jej różnych inkarnacji w perspektywie nauk o polityce i bezpieczeństwie. Autor postuluje, iż rezyliecja jest obiecującym podejściem teoretycz- nym, i tym samym powinna być szerzej wykorzystywana w badaniach nad polskimi dyskursami i praktykami bezpieczeństwa.
![Research paper thumbnail of Stępka Maciej, Mazurkiewicz Agata, Zubek Marcin, 2019." Local Spoilers and Pathways to Reconciliation: The Polish Perspective on the Polish-Ukrainian Relations in the Borderlands", Politické vedy [online]. Vol. 22, No. 4, 2019, pp. 8-32.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/61527351/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Politicke vedy, 2019
In the last three decades Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation has taken a structured and regular form... more In the last three decades Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation has taken a structured and regular form of an international dialogue dominated and controlled by central governments, which simultaneously diminished the importance of the local perspective. Yet, it is the regional level where the Polish-Ukrainian tensions have originally escalated at, and the local borderlands’ communities have always played a crucial role in the inter-ethnic relations. That is why this article tackled the topic of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation as framed by the Polish borderlands’ elites, framing it with three dimensions of reconciliation: encounters, relationship, and innovation. It critically addressed the intractable tensions between Poles and Ukrainians in the borderlands, exploring the contemporary dynamics of distrust, narrowness and historical resentments which are continuously present in the local Polish narrative and stand in the way of reconciliation. The role of the European integration was viewed as an important context and a double-edged sword in the Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation. The article contended that it is crucial to look at Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation beyond the state-level and consider that without the involvement of the borderlands and their perspective, the process is still on a rocky road. The findings were based on primary and secondary sources, including semi-structured interviews conducted in the Polish-Ukrainian borderlands.
Early warning systems are responsible for monitoring crisis situations and generating warning sig... more Early warning systems are responsible for monitoring crisis situations and generating warning signals of situations which escalate and pose a threat to international and human security. The application of this instrument often determines the success of preventive measures and efficiency of further crisis management. Being aware of the importance of this mechanism, the EU invested substantial resources for its development within the CFSP/CSDP framework. Nonetheless, the faulty institutional design and insufficient analytical capabilities of the EEAS put the applicability of the system in question. The article analyses a set of early warning institutional arrangements embedded in CFSP/CSDP institutional structure. In doing so, it describes and examines the main institutional and systemic constrains of early warning utilization in the EU conflict prevention framework.
Early Warning Systems produce conflict prevention analysis taking the claim of surprise from the ... more Early Warning Systems produce conflict prevention analysis taking the claim of surprise from the high-level decision makers’ hands and supplement it with a comprehensive and advanced security analysis. This however, on numerous occasions, proved to be problematic. This paper addresses these issues, providing a critical review of the early warning concept and its practical application. In doing so, it will offer a better understanding of the specific nature the warning-response gap and expertise utilization in the high-level political environment.
This paper discusses a conceptual relationship between Europeanization and communication‑developm... more This paper discusses a conceptual relationship between Europeanization and communication‑development. It analyses the theories and methods of diffusion of knowledge and information in Europeanizing and developing societies. More precisely, it focuses on the exact elements of communication‑development which coincide with Europeanization, and to what extent they could be extrapolated to the studies on internalization of the EU‑driven social change. In this regard,the article aims to identify the focal points for possible application of such a perspective and sanction further analyses of communication as a consolidating factor in the process of Europeanization.
This paper analyses the EU early warning system's core elements, its future and functionality in ... more This paper analyses the EU early warning system's core elements, its future and functionality in the changing European Union. The first part describes the notion of early warning analysis and its place in the EU security framework, to further elaborate on its institutional design and main issues regarding its development and role as a credible security analysis.
Book Chapters by Maciej Stępka
Geopolitical and Humanitarian Aspects of the Belarus-EU Border Conflict, 2024
Since the summer of 2021, the Polish–Belarusian border has become a stage for a migration crisis ... more Since the summer of 2021, the Polish–Belarusian border has become a stage for a migration crisis orchestrated by the Belarusian government. To detain the crisis, the Polish government deployed a range of security actors, including the Border Guard, the military and the police. It effectively launched a spectacle comprising securitised practices of invisibilisation, expulsion, containment and control directed at immigrants, as well as activists, journalists, politicians and other actors attempting to enter the zone. This chapter unravels the militarised mode of border management and focuses on the use of the Territorial Defence Forces (TDF) as one of the key security actors deployed by the Polish government. The chapter uses Goffman’s dramaturgic perspective to investigate specific frames of border management by looking at the way the TDF has presented itself and its involvement in the crisis on social media. This will provide a deeper perspective into practices and discourses of legitimisation of military presence not only on the Polish eastern border but also on the external border of the European Union.
Europa und die Europäer Perspektiven der polnischen Wissenschaft im 21. Jahrhundert, 2023
In this text, the securitisation of migration in the European Union, which has become one of the ... more In this text, the securitisation of migration in the European Union, which has become one of the most important themes in academic and political debates in recent years, is juxtaposed with Bronisław Geremek’s values and views on security, migration and border protection. Bronisław Geremek strongly be- lieved in a liberal international order, human security, solidarity and the need to protect refugees and protecting borders without erecting walls and barriers to mobility. The analysis shows that the policy and discourse of the European Commission has largely diverged from the views propounded by Geremek, focusing mainly on security at the expense of mobility, humanitarianism and responsibility for refugees. The text also identifies some positive aspects in the development of the EU’s approach to migration, primarily related to the reception of refugees from Ukraine, which could represent an opportunity to develop a more humane approach to migration and asylum in the EU.
Migration Policy in Crisis, 2018
This chapter investigates the process of the so-called humanitarian securitization, focusing on d... more This chapter investigates the process of the so-called humanitarian securitization, focusing on dynamics between humanitarian and security-oriented rhetoric and policy actions embedded in the EU policy frames produced in response to the 2015 “migration crisis”. In doing so, it focuses on the nature of the humanitarian framing of the crisis within the EU policy discourse and its relation to the development of operational and militarized responses (i.e. EUNAVFOR Sophia, Frontex border operations) to increased migratory flows. The chapter centres predominantly on the Mediterranean border of the EU, which, given its dangerous nature of irregular border crossing and the number of fatalities, occupies the central role in conceptualization of the humanitarian features of the “migration crisis”. In this approach the chapter does not focus humanitarianism and security as opposite or mutually exclusive, but concentrates on the way these two logics coincide and intertwine in the framing process. In this respect, the chapter contributes to less-studied branch of securitization, showing how human referent object and the idea of humanitarianism have been utilized and gradually marginalized in the conceptualization of remedial actions towards the crisis, changing the nature of the EU’s operations in the Mediterranean from “search and rescue” to “seek and destroy”.
Local Poland on European Integration: Ten years after the Accession, Jun 1, 2017
The main aim of the following chapter is to analyse how Polish local communities weigh up and per... more The main aim of the following chapter is to analyse how Polish local communities weigh up and perceive the economic costs and benefits of European integration ten years after accession. In this case, the qualitative analysis of perceptions of the integration process introduces a new insight into the materialistic approach to such complex political events as European integration. Therefore, the chapter is built on the hypothesis that increased fiscal transfers from the European budget translate into positive attitudes towards the integration process. Such an approach will allow the confrontation of one of the most powerful assumptions of the economic model with a qualitative cost-benefit analysis performed at a local level.
Podsumowanie siódmej kadencji Parlamentu Europejskiego (2009-2014), 2015
Parlament Europejski siódmej kadencji (2009–2014) wobec Wspólnej Polityki Bezpieczeństwa i Obrony... more Parlament Europejski siódmej kadencji (2009–2014) wobec Wspólnej Polityki Bezpieczeństwa i Obrony (WPBiO) 2 UE Niniejszy artykuł analizuje działalność Parlamentu Europejskiego siódmej kadencji w kontekście polityki bezpieczeństwa i obrony Unii Europejskiej (UE) 3 na podstawie wybranych rezolucji, dokumentów eksperckich i protokołów w trzech zakresach problematycznych: 1) wzmocnienie roli Parlamentu, 2) rozbudowa potencjału operacyjnego, 3) walka z nowymi zagrożeniami. Rezolucje będą w tym przypadku pełnić funkcję wskaźnika trendów obowiązujących w badanej kadencji, a pozostały materiał posłuży jako komentarz dla jego działalności pozalegislacyjnej. Tak ujęty materiał pozwoli na zaprezentowanie pełnego zakresu tematycznego oraz obowiązującego dyskursu, właściwego dla badanej kadencji. Działalność PE w siódmej kadencji w zakresie Wspólnej Polityki Bezpieczeństwa i Obrony Parlament Europejski siódmej kadencji w dużej mierze kontynuował działalność swoich poprzedników. Jego dorobek prawny oraz działalność pozalegislacyjna nie tylko dowiodły konsekwencji europosłów w budowaniu swojej pozycji w ramach WPZiB/WPBiO, ale też wyznaczały nowe kierunki w dyskusjach nad przyszłością tej delikatnej domeny w porządku instytucjonalnym UE. Analiza aktywności Parlamentu siódmej kadencji została podzielona wedle trzech grup tematycznych: 1) wzmocnienie roli Parlamentu, 2) rozbudowa potencjału operacyjnego, 3) nowe zagrożenia dla bezpieczeństwa europejskiego. Takie rozróżnienie pozwoli na uporządkowanie dorobku Parlamentu w kontekście jego aktywności oraz ukazanie specyfiki jego roli w domenie bezpieczeństwa UE.
Europe from Visegrad Perspective On-line Reader, Aug 1, 2015
With the on-going humanitarian and refugee crises, migration and human security have become intri... more With the on-going humanitarian and refugee crises, migration and human security have become intrinsically connected. The push factors and human security issues, which have been stimulating uncontrolled migratory flows have become dangerous not only to the regional but principally individual level of security. This article employs the human security concept, as a framework for the analysis of the African insecurity environment. In doing go, it identifies main threats to human security and potential push factors for forced and irregular migration in Africa. The paper concludes that human security perspective on migration should first and foremost focus on the security of migrants, as the victims of persistent threats and structural violence.
Edited volumes by Maciej Stępka
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Edited volumes by Maciej Stępka