Studies of migration-related security concerns have focused on the emergence of these concerns through securitization or their potential dissolution through desecuritization. This paper challenges the conventional view of these processes—securitization and desecuritization—as oppositional and mutually exclusive. Instead, it argues that they are imbricated in complex ways in an arena of contestation where actors vie for legitimacy and justify their claims through ongoing actions and reactions. Focusing on the Global South case of securitized migration in the Dominican Republic, this paper conceptualizes desecuritization not as a discrete outcome measured by success or failure, but as a dynamic process evolving through interactions with securitization. By examining the role of non-state actors in contesting securitized policies, the paper reveals that such contestation can paradoxically intensify securitization through a “security backlash” that delegitimizes these actors and discredits their rights-based claims. This dynamic underscores the “resilience” of securitization amidst persistent contestation. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates desecuritization as iterative contestation rather than static outcomes, emphasizing the agency of non-state actors in shaping security narratives and practices while acknowledging their limitations against powerful state actors. These insights from a study of South–South migration extend the application of the securitization framework beyond convenient Western contexts and challenge perceived geographic boundaries.

中文翻译：

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对移民安全化的争论：非政府组织、政府间组织和安全抵制


对移民相关安全问题的研究主要集中在通过证券化出现这些问题，或者通过去证券化消除这些问题。本文挑战了将这些过程（证券化和去证券化）视为对立和相互排斥的传统观点。相反，它认为，他们在一个竞争的舞台上以复杂的方式被浸淫，在这个舞台上，行为者争夺合法性，并通过持续的行动和反应来证明他们的主张是合理的。本文侧重于多米尼加共和国全球南方证券化移民的案例，将去证券化概念化为一个通过与证券化互动而演变的动态过程，而不是一个以成功或失败来衡量的离散结果。通过研究非国家行为者在质疑证券化政策中的作用，本文揭示了这种争论可以通过“安全反弹”自相矛盾地加剧证券化，从而使这些行为者失去合法性，并诋毁他们基于权利的主张。这种动态强调了证券化在持续争论中的“弹性”。最终，本文将去证券化证明为迭代竞争而不是静态结果，强调非国家行为者在塑造安全叙事和实践方面的能动性，同时承认他们在对抗强大的国家行为者时存在局限性。这些来自南南移民研究的见解将证券化框架的应用扩展到方便的西方环境之外，并挑战了感知到的地理界限。