Securitisation in the Mediterranean: an ethical analysis of the EUNAVFOR MED SOPHIA operation using the prism of Floyd’s Just Securitisation Theory (JST)

Abstract

ABSTRACT In May 2015, the EU decided to launch a common military response against immigrant traffickers and smugglers known as the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED)—and Operation SOPHIA. Its aim was to dispose of smugglers' vessels and other smuggling assets while still in Libyan territorial waters. Although this specific aim had never materialized, leading to the operation's termination in March 2020, the original decision had led to a securitisation process in the Mediterranean in the form of an increasing deployment of militarized bordering practices and techniques under the umbrella of Operation EUVAVFOR MED. The present paper presents a normative analysis of EUNAVFOR MED through the prism of Floyd's Just Securitisation Theory (JST). It focuses on the just initiation of securitisation, which is the first element of JST and a parallel to JWT's ius ad bellum that contains five conditions: Just Reason for Securitisation; Morally Justifiable Referent Objects; Right Intention; Macro Proportionality, and Reasonable Chances of Success. The paper concludes these conditions were not all met in all three phases of EUVAVFORMED and highlights the complexity of normatively assessing the securitisation of migrants' smugglers in the context of this European maritime military operation.