Interpreting Italian asylum policies by linking securitization, depoliticisation and politicisation theories

The contribution aims at analysing the latest evolutions of the government of forced migrations in Italy; securitization, depoliticisation and politicisation are therefore identified as relevant theories for studying this issue. Because they are seldom interrelated in the academic literature, the contribution develops an analytical framework that highlights the assonances and dissonances among them, as well as the coexistence and overlapping of these tendencies in current policymaking. Overall, emergency-based politics stand out as a main element for reading securitization, politicisation and depoliticisation as interrelated governing strategies. In its second part, the contribution attempts to first apply the framework to asylum policies, specifically to the so-called Security Decrees, which have determined a significant reconfiguration of forced migrants’ rights in Italy. The analysis focuses particularly on the abolition of the humanitarian protection and the new norms for SAR NGOs, the new design of the reception system, and the everyday impact of the two decrees. The intertwining of securitization, politicisation and depoliticisation is significantly attested in the context under observation. Because a sound and analytic interpretation of this process cannot be offered at this stage, suggestions and possible paths for further research are presented in the conclusions.