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Rescue Without Protection: Securitization and Humanitarian Framing in the Safety of Rwanda Act

Kihl, Linus LU and Moni, Antonela LU (2026) STVK12 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis examines how the Safety of Rwanda Act, and the justifications in the House of Commons debates preceding its enactment, securitizes migration. This is done by examining how migration is framed in the discourse. By applying a WPR discourse analysis, this study identifies problem representations within the material and analyses them through securitization theory (Buzan et al., 1998) and Moreno-Lax’s (2018) securitization/humanitarianization framework and ‘rescue-through-interdiction/rescue-without-protection’ paradigm.

The findings of this thesis are that the Safety of Rwanda Act is securitized by framing irregular migration as a humanitarian crisis that threatens migrants' lives. The problem representations identified through... (More)
This thesis examines how the Safety of Rwanda Act, and the justifications in the House of Commons debates preceding its enactment, securitizes migration. This is done by examining how migration is framed in the discourse. By applying a WPR discourse analysis, this study identifies problem representations within the material and analyses them through securitization theory (Buzan et al., 1998) and Moreno-Lax’s (2018) securitization/humanitarianization framework and ‘rescue-through-interdiction/rescue-without-protection’ paradigm.

The findings of this thesis are that the Safety of Rwanda Act is securitized by framing irregular migration as a humanitarian crisis that threatens migrants' lives. The problem representations identified through the WPR method were consistent with those identified in previous research by Moreno-Lax (2018). The securitizing actors frame irregular migration as a humanitarian crisis by emphasizing the risk migrants face when entering the UK through dangerous sea routes. The proposed intervention prevents or externalizes the responsibility of protecting irregular migrants from the UK. This crisis is represented as urgent and in need of decisive intervention. The ‘rescue’ framing constructs a moral and humanitarian justification for restrictive migration policy, in which the protection of rights is not guaranteed but removed. This study adds further validity and insight to securitization and Moreno-Lax’s (2018) framework, and future research on similar cases and other securitizing contexts is recommended. (Less)
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author
Kihl, Linus LU and Moni, Antonela LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK12 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Securitization, Safety of Rwanda Act, discourse, WPR, irregular migration, humanitarianization, United Kingdom, policy framework, problem-framing
language
English
id
9227200
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 15:08:56
date last changed
2026-06-16 15:08:56
@misc{9227200,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how the Safety of Rwanda Act, and the justifications in the House of Commons debates preceding its enactment, securitizes migration. This is done by examining how migration is framed in the discourse. By applying a WPR discourse analysis, this study identifies problem representations within the material and analyses them through securitization theory (Buzan et al., 1998) and Moreno-Lax’s (2018) securitization/humanitarianization framework and ‘rescue-through-interdiction/rescue-without-protection’ paradigm.

The findings of this thesis are that the Safety of Rwanda Act is securitized by framing irregular migration as a humanitarian crisis that threatens migrants' lives. The problem representations identified through the WPR method were consistent with those identified in previous research by Moreno-Lax (2018). The securitizing actors frame irregular migration as a humanitarian crisis by emphasizing the risk migrants face when entering the UK through dangerous sea routes. The proposed intervention prevents or externalizes the responsibility of protecting irregular migrants from the UK. This crisis is represented as urgent and in need of decisive intervention. The ‘rescue’ framing constructs a moral and humanitarian justification for restrictive migration policy, in which the protection of rights is not guaranteed but removed. This study adds further validity and insight to securitization and Moreno-Lax’s (2018) framework, and future research on similar cases and other securitizing contexts is recommended.}},
  author       = {{Kihl, Linus and Moni, Antonela}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Rescue Without Protection: Securitization and Humanitarian Framing in the Safety of Rwanda Act}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}