Weaponized Migration

Dr. Rameez Abbas

Recent headlines imply a particular story of migrants used as weapons: “E.U. Says Belarus ‘Weaponized’ Middle Eastern Migrants” or “The New Front of the ‘Hybrid War’.” (1)

Conflict, as previously discussed in this journal, is routinely waged in the so-called “gray zone,” and the word “weaponization” is often used as shorthand for certain tactics that blur the expected line between war and politics. It tends to indicate the instrumental use and exploitation of people and p...