cornerstone of state sovereignty (Kurtulus, 2005, p.16) – any degradation of the
role of the state in the enforcement of borders would suggest a wider crisis for
the nation-state as a whole. Whilst many believe, as was often argued in the case
of Brexit, that institutions such as the European Union (EU) weaken the nation-
state through policies such as that of freedom of movement between member
states, the reality appears to be an opposite one. An increase in international
migration has occurred in a globalising world, with numbers of migrants globally
increasing three-fold from 1970 to 2019, where the initial figure was 84.5 million
people, to 271.6 million in 2019 (International Organization for Migration, 2019).
However, the idea that nation-states are unable, and have not responded to this
phenomenon due to their involvements in and alleged quasi-subjugation by
international organisations is an inaccurate assessment of the role of nation-
states within existing supra-national institutions (Geddes, 2001). Following the
September 11 attacks in the US in 2001, the perception of migrants and
migration as hostile entities and security risks became more widespread
(Benedicto, 2019), leading to an intensification of border security measures, and
securitization of borders and travelling more widely. The European Union’s
manifestation of these changes was the creation of the European Border and
Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in 2004. Initially, the organisation was known as
the European Agency for Management of Operational Cooperation at the
External Borders, with a role that primarily involved overseeing EU member
states’ border controls and coordinating actions with the multitude of EU border
agencies (Benedicto, 2019). The 2015-2016 migrant crisis encouraged further
securitisation of the EU’s borders and the processes associated with them, and
the force was given its current name and increase in obligations, funding, as well
as its own personnel in 2016 (Benedicto, 2019). The 2016 regulation on Frontex,
a significant expansion of the force’s mandate, particularly regarding the ability
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