Overview of publications
Reports and briefings
Global Climate Wall: How the world’s wealthiest nations prioritise borders over climate action
October 2021
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
This report finds that the world’s biggest emitters of green house gases are spending, on average, 2.3 times as much on arming their borders as they are on climate finance. This figure is as high as 15 times as much for the worst offenders. This “Global Climate Wall” aims to seal off powerful countries from migrants, rather than addressing the causes of displacement.
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Outsourcing Oppression: How Europe externalises migrant detention beyond its shores
April 2021
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
This report seeks to join the dots between Europe’s outsourcing of migrant detention to third countries and the notoriously poor conditions in those migrant detention centres. Europe calls the shots on migrant detention beyond its shores but is rarely held to account for the deeply oppressive consequences, including arbitrary detention, torture, forced disappearance, violence, sexual violence, and death.
Financing Border Wars: The border industry, its financiers and human rights
April 2021
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
This report seeks to explore and highlight the extent of today’s global border security industry, by focusing on the most important geographical markets—Australia, Europe, USA—listing the human rights violations and risks involved in each sector of the industry, profiling important corporate players and putting a spotlight on the key investors in each company.
Rejection and Risk: The effects of Brexit on refugees in Calais
January 2021
With Care4Calais
This report details the ever-harsher border security measures put in place by the French and UK authorities. Naval vessels, RAF planes and Army drones have all been deployed in the Channel. The UK is paying for extra police officers and surveillance technology in northern France. While this creates millions in profits for the security industry, for refugees the only result is greater risk of death or serious injury.
A Walled World: Towards a global apartheid
November 2020
With Transnational Institute (TNI), Centre Delàs and Stop The Wall
Over the last 50 years, 63 border walls have been built worldwide. This report maps the walls that have led 6 out of 10 people in the world to live in a nation with one of these border walls, analysing the justifications for the walls, the growing militarisation of borders everywhere and the businesses that have profited.
COVID-19 and Border Politics
July 2020
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
This briefing takes a look at the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for refugees and migrants and its anticipated influence on the border security and control market. What are the direct effects on migrants and refugees who are already living in vulnerable situations? What does it mean for people crossing international borders, seeking asylum and transiting the deadly and treacherous migrant routes across regions, continents and seas?
Hunted. Detained. Deported.: UK-French co-operation and the effects of border securitisation on refugees in Calais
February 2020
With Care4Calais
This report shows that the UK has paid France hundreds of millions of pounds to increase border security at Calais, resulting in more violence against, and risks for, refugees. After Brexit even more stringent border security measures at and around Calais can be expected.
The Business of Building Walls
November 2019
With Transnational Institute (TNI) and Centre Delàs
This report explores the business of building walls, which has both fuelled and benefited from a massive expansion of public spending on border security by the European Union (EU) and its member states. Some of the corporate beneficiaries are also global players, tapping into a global market for border security estimated to be worth approximately €17.5 billion in 2018, with annual growth of at least 8% expected in coming years.
Expanding the Fortress: The policies, the profiteers and the people shaped by EU’s border externalisation programme
May 2018
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
The EU has made migration control a central goal of its foreign relations, rapidly expanding border externalisation measures that require neighbouring countries to act as Europe’s border guards. This report examines 35 countries, prioritised by the EU, and finds authoritarian regimes emboldened to repress civil society, vulnerable refugees forced to turn to more dangerous and deadly routes, and European arms and security firms booming off the surge in funding for border security systems and technologies.
NATO and EU border security in the Mediterranean
May 2017
This briefing shows that NATO supports EU border security policies, especially in the Mediterranean. Initially playing a low key role in assisting Frontex missions, NATO has stepped up to a more active role since the start of the so called ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015. This includes support to the EU military Operation Sophia for the coast of Libya.
Border Wars II: An update on the arms industry profiting from Europe’s refugee tragedy
December 2016
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
This briefing shows that the European policy response to the refugee tragedy continues to provide a booming border security market for Europe’s arms and security firms, some of whom are involved in selling arms to the Middle East and North Africa and all of whom encourage European policies focused on keeping refugees out. It’s a win-win for the security corporations, but the cost is a deadly toll for migrants forced into ever more dangerous routes as they flee wars, conflict and oppression.
Border Wars: The arms dealers profiting from Europe’s refugee tragedy
July 2016
With Transnational Institute (TNI)
While tens of thousands of refugees have died fleeing terrible violence and hardship to get to Europe, not everyone has lost out. This report exposes the military and security companies that have profited from the tragedy, winning contracts to provide the equipment to border guards, the surveillance technology to monitor frontiers, and the IT infrastructure to track population movements.
In co-publication with Centre Delàs and Transnational Institute (TNI)
- Guarding the Fortress: The role of Frontex in the militarisation and securitisation of migratory flows in the European Union – November 2019
- Building Walls: Fear and securitization in the European Union – November 2018
Book chapters
- The Military and Security Industy: Promoting Europe’s Refugee Regime – November 2020
- Militarisation of the European Union: fresh money for the military industry (with Laetitia Sedou and Bram Vranken) – November 2020
- The policies and industry behind the European walls – November 2019
- Militarization of European Border Security – November 2017
Articles, blogs, presentations
2023
- New Frontex contracts for aerial surveillance flights – Abolish Frontex – October
- Lampedusa: no to Frontex, no to migration cooperation with Tunisia – Abolish Frontex – September
- Border profiteers: arms industry and migration – presentation at the No Border Camp 2023 – August
- How Frontex expanded in the wake of the Ukraine War – with TNI – Abolish Frontex – June
- How the EU has used the war in Ukraine to expand its border regime – with TNI – June
- Global Spending on Immigration Enforcement Is Higher than Ever and Rising – Migration Policy Institute – May
2022
- Border externalisation: an update – presentation for debate The Left in European Parliament – December
- Switzerland: Borders over Climate – with WAV Recherchekollektiv for Abolish Frontex – November
- Rotterdam hosts Frontex conference on virtual wall – Stop Wapenhandel – October
2021
- Frontex builds its own armed border police force – with Stop the War on Migrants – Baghawat – December
- Lucrative barriers, deadly consequences – Mixed Migration Review 2021 – November
- Fact sheet: Frontex and the military and security industry – with Abolish Frontex Research Group – November
- Glock will provide firearms to Frontex border police force – Abolish Frontex – November
- Frontex: 16 years of a humanitarian and political disaster – Abolish Frontex – October
- Frontex awards €84.5 million in aerial surveillance contracts – Stop Wapenhandel – August
- Frontex Scrutiny Working Group leaves Frontex off the hook – Abolish Frontex – July
- European Parliament votes on Integrated Border Management Fund – Abolish Frontex – July
- It is time to end illegal pushbacks and abolish Frontex – ROAR Magazine – June
- European arms exports, militarisation and borders – Introduction during online session ‘Counting the Money’ during the Alternative Security Conference of DiEM25 – April
2020
- Securitisation of migration, militarisation of borders and industry influence – Introduction during online workshop ‘Security and the Left in Europe’ of the Rosa Luxemburg Stifting Brussels – November
- Frontex awards €50 million in border surveillance drone contracts to Airbus, IAI and Elbit – Stop Wapenhandel – October
- How the arms industry drives Fortress Europe’s expansion – Crisis Magazine – June
- Borders and the arms trade – CAAT News – February
2019
- The deadly profits from EU border walls – Debating Development Research – November
- Europe’s multi-billion border budget is a bonanza for the security industry – openDemocracy – November
- Border security, military industry and EU militarisation – Presentation at the seminar on Euromilitarism, Oorlog is geen Oplossing / VD AMOK / Network No to War – No to NATO, Amsterdam – April
2018
- Will Europe use Israeli drones against refugees? – Electronic Intifada – October
- The rise of border imperialism – ROAR Magazine – September
- Climate change, conflict and migration – Presentation at meeting ‘Climate Refugees, Environmental Justice and Clean Energy‘ of The Hague Earth Embassy – September
- Climate change, energy security, conflict and migration: who profits? – Talk in workshop at Code Rood action camp in Leermens – August
- How the security industry reaps the rewards of E.U. migration control – RefugeesDeeply – June
- Military and security companies profit from European policies exporting border control overseas – openDemocracy – May
- Europe’s solution to migration is to outsource it to Africa – EUobserver – May
- Frontex hires notorious Israeli drones for border security trials – Stop Wapenhandel – March
- EU and military and security industry meet on future of EUROSUR – Stop Wapenhandel – February
2014-2017
- How halting African refugees before they reach the EU benefits European military industries – Presentation to the European Parliament hearing (GUE/NGL) on the ‘externalisation’ of the EU’s borders – December 2017
- EU border security, cooperation with Asia, and military industry profiting – Presentation at a meeting of the Asia Europe’s People Forum – April 2017
- The deadly consequences of Europe’s border militarization – openDemocracy – December 2016
- Migration – follow the money – openDemocracy – July 2016
- Arms industry fuels and profits from refugee tragedy – Stop Wapenhandel – September 2015
- Horizon 2020: more money for building Fortress Europe – Stop Wapenhandel – January 2014
2011-2013
- Algeria, Morocco naval built-up supports EU anti-immigration policies (and the Dutch arms industry) – Stop Wapenhandel – November 2013
- Selling border militarization as a humanitarian effort – Stop Wapenhandel – October 2013
- Military industry profits from governments’ violations of rights of refugees – Stop Wapenhandel – July 2013
- Kriget mot invandringen (Militarising border security) – Etc – april 2012
- Frontex eyes drones to further war on immigration – Stop Wapenhandel – March 2012
- Frontex – new customer for the arms industry – Stop Wapenhandel – September 2011
