Technology at the Borders: Surveillance, Control and Resistance in EU Migration Governance

The Balsillie Papers Vol. 6 Issue 6 (2025)

The European Union has increasingly integrated advanced technologies—such as biometric databases, AI-driven decision-making systems, and surveillance tools—into its migration and border governance. This technological shift raises urgent ethical and legal concerns, as it often results in the dehumanization, exclusion, and rights violations of migrants. This research examines how these technologies are used by states to control migration and by migrants and solidarity networks to resist restrictive border regimes. Drawing on policy analysis, case studies, and documentation from human rights organizations, the study analyzes both institutional uses of technology and grassroots digital resistance. The findings show that while EU states use technology to externalize and securitize borders, migrants and solidarity actors repurpose the same tools to navigate, document, and contest border violence. These insights underscore the need for transparent, rights-based governance of migration technologies and challenge dominant narratives of technological neutrality in border control.

Syrian Refugee Families’ Experiences of Pregnancy Loss Services in Lebanon: A Qualitative Study

with Karen Frensch, Bree Akesson and Al Hasnaa Keftaro

International Health Trends and Perspectives, 4(3), 60–75 (2024).

Introduction: Of the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, one in four women are of childbearing age. Pregnancy loss is more common in low-resource settings, yet health services addressing it remain scarce. This study explores how Syrian refugee families in Lebanon experience pregnancy loss within this context. Methods: Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, researchers interviewed 15 mother-father dyads in the Bekaa region and held peer group discussions with mothers (n=8), fathers (n=7), and health practitioners (n=10), along with individual interviews with practitioners (n=3). Results: Both parents and practitioners reported a lack of dedicated services after pregnancy loss and a predominant medical focus in care. Parents lacked awareness of existing services, while practitioners emphasized prevention through awareness sessions. Both groups identified the need for psychological and practical support, including greater father engagement. Conclusions: The study reveals overlapping and divergent service priorities, pointing to key areas for reform. Addressing poverty and improving the relevance of health services and policies for refugee families are essential for better support following pregnancy loss.

Gendering Security: The Impact of COVID-19 on Refugee Women in Turkey

In L. Sadiki & L. Saleh (Eds.), COVID-19 and risk society across the MENA region: Assessing governance, democracy, and inequality (pp. 195–214). I.B. Tauris, Bloomsbury Publishing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created “a double emergency” for refugees in obtaining sanitary assistance and health security on the one hand and accessing basic economic, social, educational, and political resources on the other. Gender, bringing an additional risk factor to socioeconomic class, has been an important factor affecting the way refugees experience the effects of COVID-19. Women and girls have been at particular risk experiencing increased gender-based vulnerabilities. They are likely to experience the following issues: domestic violence, forced or early marriages, dropping out of the formal education system, no opportunity for online education, unemployment, and inaccessible healthcare facilitates. Due to the intersectional nature of risks and vulnerabilities posed to women in general and women in disadvantaged groups in particular, we adopt a broader definition of security to analyze the refugee women in Turkey. 

In this chapter, we will apply a gender-based analysis to study the notions of security and insecurity within the context of COVID-19 through the case study of refugee women in Turkey. We will examine the inequalities in the intersection of being both refugees and women while facing the pandemic. These inequalities are not created by the COVID-19, but they have been exacerbated by it. Turkey hosts 3.7 million Syrians, the highest number globally, with “temporary protection” status. Our analysis of gendering security is divided into two parts. Part one contains a theoretical discussion of feminist IR theory. IR feminists critically reexamine the concept of security, defining it in “multidimensional and multilevel terms.” They broaden the notion of security to incorporate bottom-up factors instead of top-down. Security threats involve “domestic violence, rape, poverty, gender subordination, and ecological destruction, as well as war.” Feminist IR Theory also emphasizes the interdependence of states as well as “human connectedness, dialogue, and cooperation” in insecurities and risks. The second part will evaluate the experiences of refugee women in Turkey with an emphasis on intersectionalities of the vulnerabilities experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will argue that when forced migration, global pandemic and gender intersects, women are likely to experience “double or even triple burden” indicating greater insecurities within the spheres of health, family, work, and education.

Uluslararası Göç Yönetişiminin Başlıca Kurumları ve Görev Alanları Nelerdir?(What are the main institutions and mandates of international migration governance?)

In 50 Soruda Türkiye’nin Göç Politikaları (pp. 46–57). Altınbaş Üniversitesi Yayınları (2022).

This chapter examines the growing complexity of global migration governance, emphasizing that nation-states can no longer manage migration alone. It highlights the role of non-state actors in shaping policies and overseeing implementation, while noting their limited influence compared to states. The chapter discusses the challenges caused by the absence of a supranational authority to enforce commitments and critiques how migration governance often prioritizes state and corporate interests over migrant and refugee rights. It also covers the roles of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with a focus on Turkey’s cooperation with these organizations in managing migration.

Creating Coexistence and Resistance on Football Fields

BSIA Women’s World Cup & Global Politics Blog (2023)

Does football as a sport and football fields as a venue allow differences to come together and coexist, or does it reinforce the discrimination that exists on the streets? It is hard to provide a clear and single answer to this question. It is possible for football fields to reproduce and strengthen racism and discrimination, as well as to increase our hope for unity, solidarity, and social peace.

Football-related activities play a very important role in building social peace and making it possible for friendships to spread beyond football fields. This type of integration tool is becoming increasingly important for countries like Turkey. There is an unfortunate possibility that football fields can also be a place where racism, discrimination, and violence is produced and even experienced badly. The football field is still not an area where women can enter and run the ball as freely as men in many regions. There are still many barriers preventing women from playing football. Due to this, women face a greater number of obstacles than men. The situation can be much more difficult if you are a refugee and also a woman. There are, however, many refugee women who have overcome all these challenges and achieved incredible success.

The Al Shami Kitchen Project – Solidarity Amongst Syrian Refugee Women in Izmit, Turkey

The Southern Responses to Displacement Research Project (2019)

The Al Shami Kitchen Project is a refugee-led initiative that directly challenges assumptions that refugees are passive victims in need of care from outsiders. In this piece, Fatmanur Delioglu’s research, based in Izmit, Turkey, focuses on the solidarity networks developed amongst Syrian refugee women, and between them and members of the local Turkish community. In line with the aims of the Southern Responses to Displacement project, Fatmanur’s research centralizes the voices of refugees and provides insights into how these networks impact on the economic and psycho-social lives of refugee women, the lives of their families, and the wider community. It also examines the structural power imbalances between refugee women and Turkish municipalities, within which these networks operate, and how they resist patriarchal and social norms that can create and maintain multiple disadvantages experienced by refugee women. 

Review of Island of Hope: Migration and Solidarity in the Mediterranean by Megan A. Carney

International Migration (2022)

In an era where hostility towards immigrants is escalating and borders are increasingly fortified, turning to solidarity networks becomes a powerful source of hope. These networks create a space for imagining more inclusive forms of statehood and citizenship beyond the boundaries of normative national frameworks. Island of Hope: Migration and Solidarity in the Mediterranean by Megan A. Carley presents a vivid ethnographic account of solidarity practices in Sicily between 2014 and 2019. Through extensive fieldwork and active engagement with various individuals and institutions involved in immigrant reception, Carley offers valuable insights into the everyday realities of both citizens and non-citizens. The book’s strength lies in its nuanced examination of solidarity networks operating at the intersection of neoliberalism and migration policies. By documenting diverse forms of solidarity, it encourages readers to critically reassess what solidarity means in contemporary migration contexts.

Review of Dignity, Women and Immigration Detention by Alice Gerlach.

Oxford University Border Criminologies Blog (2023)

This review by Fatmanur focuses on Dignity, Women, and Immigration Detention by Alice Gerlach (Routledge, 2022). The book offers a detailed analysis of the emotional and psychological impact of immigration detention on women in the UK, framing their experiences through the lens of human dignity. Fatmanur's review highlights Gerlach’s argument regarding the systemic erosion of dignity in detention settings and its long-term consequences on women's lives.

İnsan Haklarını ve Dayanışmayı Merkeze Alan Göç Çalışması Yürütmenin Önemi (The Importance of Conducting Migration Studies Centered on Human Rights and Solidarity)

This piece offers a reflective assessment of a migration-focused workshop organized by the Emek ve Adalet Platformu as part of the “Müştereklerimiz” series. Conducted over eight weeks, the workshop brought together participants and experts to engage in collective learning and dialogue on issues of migration, solidarity, and human rights. Fatmanur evaluates the format, dynamics, and thematic progression of the sessions, with particular emphasis on participatory knowledge sharing and practices of solidarity with migrants. 

Baraa Hattab ile Sözlü Tarih Görüşmesi (Oral History with Baraa Hattab)

The Foundation for Sciences and Arts (2016)

This research draws on an in-depth oral history interview with Baraa Hattab, a Syrian woman who migrated to Turkey due to the conflict in Syria. The study explores her experiences of forced displacement and resettlement, highlighting her journey from Idlib to rural Turkey. It examines themes of gender, labor, rural integration, and community support, shedding light on both the challenges and solidarities encountered in the migration process. The narrative captures personal reflections on education, marriage, housing, and everyday life in displacement. Through her story, the research provides insight into the socio-political dynamics shaping refugee experiences in Turkey.