Introduction

Securitization theory has frequently been applied to the study of migration. The framing of human mobility as a threat, however, has highlighted the limitations as well as the strengths of the framework initially developed in Copenhagen, prompting securitization scholars to go beyond the study of sovereign speech acts by examining media discourses as well as security professionals’ practices. This introductory chapter calls for a further expansion of the securitization paradigm, arguing that the fragmentation of the public sphere in the web 2.0 and the need to decentralize migration and security studies alike warrant a systematic examination of visual as well as textual discourses and physical as well as digital, algorithmic practices. This expanded, multidisciplinary approach enables securitization theory to untap its full potential to scrutinize migration governance along the Central Mediterranean Route and beyond.