Is the United States the 'director' of Europe's new migration crisis?

The question of migration has transformed from a humanitarian concern into a pivotal geopolitical issue, fundamentally altering the landscape of political power. European states, once believing borders were defended at the frontier, now secure their territories thousands of kilometers away, from the shores of Libya to Turkish reception centers, the Evros River, Moroccan police, and Mauritanian patrols.

This shift represents more than a technical change in migration management; it signifies a profound alteration in the essence of political authority. When the protection of a nation's border is delegated to another country, that border ceases to be solely a sovereign right and becomes a subject of negotiation. The scenes witnessed in Ceuta and Melilla are not merely isolated tragedies but symptoms of a deeper process where the interests of Europe, Africa, the United States, and the Mediterranean region intersect.

Geopolitical power, once measured by military might, is increasingly defined by the capacity to manage various flows, capital, energy, data, rare raw materials, maritime routes, digital networks, and migration. While territory remains relevant, it is no longer the sole determinant of influence. Those who control these flows can shape the policies of states that maintain formal sovereignty, making migration an instrument of international relations.

The article points to the 2015 European migrant crisis as a turning point, revealing that no single European state could manage its borders alone. The subsequent EU-Turkey agreement, while temporarily alleviating the issue, created a new dependency. When Turkey, in 2020, threatened to cease halting migrants towards Europe, it demonstrated Ankara's leverage. Similarly, Belarus's organized channeling of migrants toward Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in 2021 highlighted how political decisions in one nation could directly impact the EU's external borders, which were no longer solely physical but also political.