In the EU, the 2015 refugee crisis was met with the securitization of migration. In order to “protect” member states from larger waves of displaced people, several deals with EU neighboring states...Show moreIn the EU, the 2015 refugee crisis was met with the securitization of migration. In order to “protect” member states from larger waves of displaced people, several deals with EU neighboring states were concluded. Simultaneously to these migration deals, one could observe a decrease in overall political and civil liberty in a number of EU neighboring states. This paper poses the question: How does migration diplomacy affect autocratization in the EU periphery? In order to investigate this relationship, a qualitative exploratory single case study is conducted. Based on a theory by Levitsky and Way (2006), this paper hypothesizes that migration diplomacy can enhance autocratization for two reasons: (1) it reduces EU democratizing pressure and (2) provides fewer incentives for neighboring states to comply. The selected case to test this hypothesis is Turkey. An analysis of the EU and Turkey during two episodes of autocratization permits to identify substantial behavior changes after the deal. These findings confirm that, in EU periphery states which experience democratic backsliding, migration diplomacy could enhance autocratization.Show less
