Securitization or securing rights? Exploring the conceptual foundations of policies towards minorities and migrants in Europe

Minority and migration issues tend to be framed either in terms of security and control or rights. Rather than lamenting the securitization of these issues in the academic and policy debate and advocating a focus on rights as an alternative, this article calls for the re-conceptualization in terms of a 'security-rights nexus'. It is argued here that minority and migration issues and their conceptual interlock have a clear security dimension, but that these concerns are best addressed through rights-based policies. Through an analysis of the policy approaches of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU, this article traces two related dimensions of the 'security-rights nexus', namely the increasing linkages between policies towards minorities and migrants and between security and rights. Both institutions' emphasis on 'integration' in minority and migration policies reflects the two interrelated dimensions of the 'security-rights' nexus.