THE GEOPOLITICS OF RELIGION, MIGRATION, AND SUSTAINABILITY AT EU EXTERNAL BORDERS: ONTOLOGICAL SECURITY, BORDERING PRACTICES, AND GOVERNANCE CAPACITY
Keywords:
Geopolitics of religion, migration governance, sustainable regional development, governance risk, social cohesion, EU external borders, cultural infrastructure.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.
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