Borders under siege: the weaponization of migration in the Polish-Belarusian crisis from 2021 to 2024Kowzan, Zuzanna (Avtor) Prezelj, Iztok (Mentor) Ristevska, Teodora Tea (Komentor) hybrid warfareEuropean Union border governancePolish-Belarusian border crisisweaponization of migrationcrisis governanceThis master’s thesis examines the weaponization of migration during the Polish-Belarusian border crisis (2021-2024) and its impact on European security governance. The research addresses the question of how Belarus deliberately manipulated migration flows as part of a strategy of hybrid warfare, how Poland and the EU responded, and what these dynamics reveal about the securitisation of migration in contemporary Europe. This study analyses the crisis through three interlinked theoretical lenses: Greenhill’s forced migration framework, hybrid warfare theory, and securitisation theory. Together, these approaches allow for a multi-level assessment of intentionality, strategic context, and discursive construction. A qualitative research design is used, based on a document analysis of academic literature, legal acts, reports by non-governmental organisations and media, and open research by Belarusian exile officials. The findings show that Belarus orchestrated the migrant flows through visas, flights, and logistical facilitation, and embedded them in a broad disinformation and pressure campaign. Poland’s response in the form of emergency laws, military operations and pushback was a prime example of securitisation, legitimised by a prominent level of acceptance among the population. At EU level, the crisis accelerated legal experimentation and reinforced the shift towards “crisis management,” which prioritises flexibility over harmonisation in asylum policy. However, this normalisation of exceptional measures risks undermining the Common European Asylum System and undermining the normative credibility of the Union. The thesis concludes that the border crisis shows how migration can be used both as a material tactic and a discursive tool, as illustrated by the Polish–Belarusian case.Z. Kowzan20252025-11-27 08:30:05Magistrsko delo/naloga176295sl