THE GEOPOLITICS OF RELIGION, MIGRATION, AND SUSTAINABILITY AT EU EXTERNAL BORDERS: ONTOLOGICAL SECURITY, BORDERING PRACTICES, AND GOVERNANCE CAPACITY

Abstract

This paper looks into the question of migration in EU external border regions through the perspective of the geopolitics of religion, linking governance risk with sustainable regional development. It argues that functioning as a form of cultural infrastructure, religion influences social cohesion, institutional trust, and governance capacity, yet remains insufficiently integrated into EU cohesion, integration, and risk-management strategies. This is a discussion  not about religion but about governance and therefore examines migration governance in European Union external border regions through the lens of the geopolitics of religion, integrating Critical Border Studies, Ontological Security Theory, securitisation theory, and governmentality. It argues that religion functions as a form of cultural infrastructure shaping social cohesion, institutional trust, and governance capacity. Yet EU cohesion, migration, and security strategies insufficiently integrate religious dimensions, often marginalising religion as either socially irrelevant or framing it exclusively within securitisation logics. This omission produces long-term governance vulnerabilities, particularly in structurally fragile border regions. By conceptualising borders as identity-producing mechanisms, and religion as ontologically significant to both host societies and migrant communities, the article proposes a recalibrated governance approach that enhances institutional resilience and sustainable regional development. The analysis is informed by the author’s interdisciplinary academic and policy background at the intersection of comparative religion, security studies, and international governance.