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The drowned boy image and securitization in the European migrant crisis.

Thesis · July 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14152.52484

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The drowned boy image and securitization in the
European migrant crisis

Commander David Laks

Netherlands Defence Academy
Master thesis MSS Class 2014

5 July 2016

Thesis supervisor: Dr. Erna Rijsdijk

Co-examiner: Dr. Peter Olsthoorn

Thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the Master MSS

 In 2015, nearly 4,000 migrants died on their way to Europe.
Only one do we know by name: Aylan Kurdi.1

1
Argos TV

1
Preface

This thesis was written as the final part of the Master Program Military Strategic Studies at the
Netherlands Defence Academy. During the last two years I was a part-time student and always
enjoyed the Fridays spent travelling to Breda to attend classes. For the past two years, academic
literature, papers, essays, and studying for exams were a substantial part of my life.

As a final task, I was engaged in writing this thesis from December 2015 to June 2016. My research
question was formulated with my supervisor Dr. Erna Rijsdijk. The subject interested me from the
beginning of the process. The combination of the theoretical framework of securitization, the power
of the media and photography, and most of all, actual events regarding migration allowed me to
work, in general, with enthusiasm and pleasure on this thesis.

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Erna Rijsdijk. She guided me with valuable advice
throughout the process and always made time to assess my thesis work. I also thank Dr. Peter
Olsthoorn as the second reader for taking the time to evaluate my thesis. Next, I would like to thank
Professor Lene Hansen. Besides being the author of the model I used, she gave me good literature
suggestions, and I felt honoured that she responded to my email.

Finally, I thank my wife and daughters for being patient in sometimes strenuous times.

Heiloo, 5 July 2016

David Laks

2
Abstract
Photographs of the 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi spread quickly around the world. He drowned in 2015,
along with 4,000 others as they fled from war and poverty and tried to reach safety in Europe. The
world was shocked and felt the urge to react. However, since 2014, Europe has been inundated with
an increasing flow of migrants, and the situation seems to have become a security issue and
‘securitised’. This is defined as a particular issue that is considered and excepted as an existential
threat to a certain audience (Buzan et.al., 1998). This raises the question of what is being securitised:
the migrants risking their lives, or the European countries that cannot handle the number of migrants
and consider the influx as a security threat? This thesis deals with this dilemma, and hence the
research question is: to what extend does the drowned boy photograph contribute to and influence
the (visual) securitization of the migrant crisis? The thesis elaborates on the traditional securitization
theory with the example of the iconic image of the drowned boy Aylan Kurdi who washed up ashore
while trying to reach Greece. The thesis shows the difficulties in defining securitization in the
contemporary context with regard to the migrant crisis. It connects an analysis of existing literature
regarding securitization and criticism of the traditional view to the current migrant crisis, and argues
that the terms should be redefined, with the role of images considered as a contemporary speech
act. Furthermore, the images of Aylan Kurdi are analysed using Lene Hansen’s (2015) three-step
model. This underlines how the photographs, and therefore images in general, contributes to a new
approach of securitization. In the current migrant crisis, the contrast remains that the human security
aspect and the newly defined state security are both at stake. The main conclusion is that images in
general, and the Aylan Kurdi pictures especially, contribute to securitization, but the dilemma
between human security of the migrants and the security of the European countries fearing the
migrants remains. I show that the military are also dealing with this dilemma. Finally, I conclude that
the securitization theory must incorporate images that can ‘speak’, and redefine or broaden its key
concepts.

Keywords: securitization, human security, photographs, migrants

3
Samenvatting
Foto’s van de 3-jarige Syrische peuter Aylan Kurdi verspreidden zich via kranten en sociale media op
3 september 2015 razendsnel over de wereld. Hij verdronk in 2015 samen met 4000 anderen toen zij
op de vlucht voor oorlog en armoede, trachtten de veiligheid in Europa te bereiken. De wereld
reageerde geschokt en zowel burgers als politici stelden dat dit niet langer zo kan. Echter, sinds 2014
wordt Europa al overspoeld met een groeiende stroom migranten. De situatie lijkt een
veiligheidsprobleem te worden. De vraag rijst echter wat er wordt beschouwd als
veiligheidsprobleem. Ofwel voor de migranten die hun leven riskeren door zich in te laten met
mensensmokkelaars met veel doden tot gevolg, ofwel de Europese landen die niet kunnen omgaan
met de huidige aantallen migranten en dit als veiligheid issue beschouwen. Deze scriptie gaat in op
dit dilemma. De onderzoeksvraag is daarom in welke mate de foto van het verdronken peuter
bijdraagt aan- en invloed heeft op- de securitisatie van de migranten crisis. Securitisatie kan
omschreven worden als een sociale constructie waarbij van een specifiek onderwerp een
veiligheidsissue wordt gemaakt. Volgens deze theorie rechtvaardigt dit voor staatsactoren het
nemen van buitengewone maatregelen om de situatie op te heffen. Ik ga in op de traditionele
securitisatie theorie en met het voorbeeld van de iconische foto’s van de verdronken jongetje Aylan
Kurdi en toon ik de uitdagingen bij het definiëren van securitisatie in de hedendaagse context van de
migranten crisis. De bestaande literatuur over traditionele securitisatie, kritiek hierop en de invloed
van human security, pas ik toe op de huidige Europese migratie crisis. Ik beargumenteer dat
herdefiniëring van begrippen van de securisatie theorie noodzakelijk is en de rol van beelden hierin
een prominente plaats moeten krijgen omdat ze bijdragen aan een (nieuwe) vorm van securitisatie.
Om dit aan te tonen worden de foto’s van Aylan Kurdi geanalyseerd met behulp van het door Lene
Hansen (2015) ontwikkelde drie stappen model. Hier ontstaat een paradox: Enerzijds het menselijke
aspect van de foto en anderzijds het effect dat de migratie op de Europese landen heeft.
Belangrijkste conclusie is dat beelden in het algemeen bijdragen aan securitisatie en de Aylan Kurdi
foto’s in het bijzonder in de huidige migranten crisis. Het dilemma blijft echter de menselijke
veiligheid versus de veiligheid voor de landen van de Europese Unie waar ook de militairen die
momenteel worden ingezet mee worstelen. Tot slot concludeer ik dat het noodzakelijk is de
securitisatie theorie te moderniseren door het belang van beelden die ‘spreken’ hierin te verwerken
en de belangrijkste concepten te herijken.

4
Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6

2. From traditional securitization theory towards a new approach................................................. 10

2.1 Traditional securitization ..................................................................................................... 11
2.2 Existential threat .................................................................................................................. 12
2.2.1 Human security .................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Towards a new approach ..................................................................................................... 14
2.4 Criticism of traditional securitization theory ....................................................................... 15
2.5 The power of images............................................................................................................ 17

3. Analysing an icon .......................................................................................................................... 21

3.1 Step 1: The iconic image itself ............................................................................................. 22
3.1.1 Is the Aylan Kurdi photograph iconic? ............................................................................. 24
3.1.2 Intericonicity .................................................................................................................... 25
3.1.3 Factual meaning attributed to the image ........................................................................ 26
3.2 Step 2: Appropriations of the icon ....................................................................................... 27
3.3 Step 3: Circulation, the international and political impact .................................................. 31
3.3.1 Political impact ................................................................................................................ 31
3.3.2 The dilemma visualised ................................................................................................... 33

4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 35

5. References .................................................................................................................................... 37

5
 1. Introduction

‘If you don’t control the migrant flow, people will keep coming and drowning.’
Navy officer in Elshout, 2016

The epigraph of this introduction encapsulates the contrast in approaching the current European
migrant crisis. The images of the drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, who washed up on a Turkish
beach on September 3rd, 2015 after his boat collapsed, incited public emotion and shock at what was
really happening in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. Media attention toward the migrant crisis
was moderate until the moment the photos of Aylan Kurdi were published on the front pages of
newspapers around the world. According to social media, newspapers, and the reactions of European
and world leaders, the publication of the ‘drowned boy’ photos gave the migrant crisis in Europe a
genuine face, and there was a demand for action. ’Europe sous le choc, ouvrir les yeux’ read the
headline of the leading French newspaper Le Monde. Ordinary citizens and non-governmental
organizations reacted by offering aid. Besides being placed on the front page of many newspapers,
the pictures also spread rapidly around the Internet via Twitter, were they reached the screens of
almost twenty million people in just twelve hours, according to the University of Sheffield (Vis,
2015a). The photograph provoked abhorrence and compassion, but also public recognition: he could
be our child. The Turkish police officer who found the body stated that ‘the tragedy broke [his]
heart,’ as he was thinking of his own child (RTL-nieuws, 2015). The publication of the photograph
ostensibly led to the migrant crisis becoming a greater priority for European leaders, who seemed to
consider the situation as a security issue. Framing an issue as concerning security is known as
securitization. This does not mean that the issue poses an objective threat, but rather that it is
presented as a threat convincing a relevant audience that an existential threat exists that justifies
extraordinary measures (Buzan et al., 1998). The question arises, however, of whose security is
meant: human security for the migrants risking drowning while fleeing from the danger of dying in
war, or the protection of the European countries fearing an uncontrolled influx of migrants? The
tension between securitization and humanitarization of the migrant crisis became visual when the
pictures of Aylan Kurdi went viral. This justifies a different approach contemplating the traditional
concept of securitization. With a focus on images and their intertext and intervisuals (Hansen, 2011:
5), the different audiences make a meaning. Hence, in a more contemporary approach of
securitization, the humanitarian aspect and the role of images needs to be incorporated.

This dilemma is also reflected in military intervention, as in March 2016 NATO and the European
Union started sending warships into the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea. In a NATO press release

6
(2016/024), NATO chief Stoltenberg stated that NATO only wanted to assist the European Union in
managing a human tragedy. This can be considered as an example of the humanitarization of a
military intervention. Many crew members on naval ships patrolling the area were touched by the
human suffering they encountered. Using the Navy’s heavily armed platforms while not being
trained, equipped, and prepared for their mission to stop the suffering left them with mixed feelings.
One the one hand they had to protect the European Union against illegal immigration, and on the
other hand they had to save lives, but only when migrants are at risk of drowning. One of the crew
members noted, ‘From a professional point of view the intervention is a success. From a human
perspective it touches me. I am not proud of it’ (Elshout, 2016). This equivocal encloses the link to
human security of individuals that is abandoned when one’s own security is at stake.

Framing an issue as concerning security is known as securitization. The traditional definition of

securitization in international relations (that of the Copenhagen School) is ‘the process of state actors
transforming subjects into matters of “security”: an extreme version of politicization that enables
extraordinary means to be used in the name of security’ (Buzan et.al., 1998: 25). Not due to the
objective threat they pose, but because they are presented as such in order to convince a relevant
audience of an existential threat that justifies taking extraordinary measures (Buzan et al., 1998: 25).
In this definition, the focus is on the spoken word instead of images. Hence, a more contemporary
approach to the meaning of securitization is needed. Meanwhile, the definition of humanitarization
is debatable. According to Lippold (2016: 54), it signifies the debate over interpretations of
international humanitarian law and forms ‘part of the underlying assumption in the debate on the
relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law’. In this thesis,
humanitarization is defined as considering the migrants as victims fleeing from war, and is therefore
linked to human security and considering the security threat as a human catastrophe.

With an exploratory qualitative case study, this thesis analyses how the images of Aylan Kurdi
contributed to making the European migrant crisis a (human) security issue, leading to securitization
for the migrants, the European countries, or both. Moreover, using the example of the Aylan Kurdi
photographs, the thesis argues that the power of images legitimises a different approach to
traditional securitization theory. First, this analysis will focus on traditional securitization,
concentrating on the use of words as argued by John Austin (1975). Next the thesis elaborates
extensively on the definition of an ‘existential threat’ as a decisive part of achieving securitization as
it is considered in the traditional theory. Several scholars criticise this limited interpretation and
focus on shortfalls of this traditional approach. In the thesis the definition of the ‘relevant audience’
(Thierry Balzacq, 2005), ‘existential threat,’ and the role of emotions (Eric van Rythoven, 2015) are

7
examined. In this context, an important shortfall is the lack of attention to the use of images as
reference points for securitization. To understand the role of the Aylan Kurdi pictures in the security
debate surrounding the migrant crisis, I show that there is a shift in the approach to securitization
from a linguistic perspective to the upcoming focus on images and on ‘reading’ these images in order
to understand their role in the securitization process. Images can communicate security (Mitchell,
2005), but not without accompanying and clarifying text explaining the meaning of the image in its
proper context.

In addition, the influence of images on politics is a relatively unexplored research field, though it is
gaining more attention. The process by which an image may become an icon, or fail to become one,
contributes to the academic debate on the influence of iconic pictures and their power to influence
securitization. There are numerous publications addressing securitization, and several on the
influence of (iconic) images on politics, but less literature exists on the securitization of migrant
flows. This research will combine these approaches, using the case of the current migrant crisis to
focus on the influence of the iconic pictures of Aylan Kurdi and the role of intertext and intervisuals
in securitising an issue as mentioned by Hansen (2011: 5). Regarding the initial public and political
reactions, this photograph could have been the turning point, leading the international community to
take profound measures in order to reduce the flow of migrants to Europe in an effort to end the
suffering. Instead, starting from September 2015 on, the international debates about refugees
hardened, revealing the dilemma between securitization of the migrants and securitization of the
European countries.

The photographs of Aylan Kurdi have changed the terms of the debate about refugees (Vis, 2015:
48). The images became a simple, sentimental weapon in a hardened social and political debate.
Suddenly the crisis had a name and a face: Aylan Kurdi became the symbol of a tragedy that could
not be ignored any longer.

Therefore, my research question is as follows: to what extent does the drowned boy photograph
contribute to and influence the (visual) securitization of the migrant crisis? In order to answer the
research question, two sub-questions are discussed in the subsequent chapters:
1. How should traditional securitization theory evolve into a more contemporary approach?
2. How can the Aylan Kurdi photographs be interpreted using the three slightly moderated sub-
questions derived from Hansen’s approach?

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The main methodology is Hansen’s (2015) three-tiered analytical and methodological strategy for
describing an iconic picture and analysing its (securitising) impact in world politics. Besides Hansen,
the work of scholars including Mike Buzan, Ole Wæver, David Campbell, Robert Hariman, John Louis
Lucaites, and David Perlmutter is used, providing several viewpoints with which to assess the
influence of (iconic) images on securitization. The thesis proceeds as follows. To link the role of the
Aylan Kurdi images to securitization, the first chapter begins by examining traditional securitization
theory as developed by the Copenhagen School, including its key concepts and exclusive focus on the
role of the spoken word. Due to the increasingly visual nature of the contemporary world, the
necessity of modifying the theory by broadening the concept of securitization to include the power
of images is elaborated on. Next, Hansen’s model is used to examine the drowned boy picture step-
by-step. Using relevant literature on iconic images and their appropriation, the photograph’s
influence is discussed. Main focus is the picture depicting Aylan Kurdi alone in the surf, as this image
was the most appropriated. The thesis concludes by reflecting on the findings from the previous
chapters. The role of images in contemporary securitization theory on migration issues is shown to
be an ambiguous one.

9
 2. From traditional securitization theory towards a new approach

‘The meaning of a photograph is not fixed, but is produced in the encounter with the image.’
David Campbell

In order to understand the dilemma of securitization, it is necessary to provide some background

information regarding the migrant crisis. The flow of immigrants is not a new phenomenon. A
network of human traffickers providing usually overcrowded (rubber) boats and life jackets for huge
amounts of money has led to dangerous situations frequently resulting in drownings. According to
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR, in 2014 a total number of 216,054
refugees set out on the Mediterranean Sea in the direction of Europe. 3,500 of them did not survive
this trip, among them many children and elderly people. In April 2015, more than 1,000 refugees
drowned in less than a week when five boats perished. As a result, the overseas route was
considered dangerous due to high seas and heavy winds. This led to a shift in 2015 as many refugees
began to choose Turkey as their gateway to Europe (Wikipedia, 14 January 2016). As a result, Turkey
has received more than 2 million Syrian refugees, most of them aiming to continue their journey via
the western Balkan route to the European Union, where they believe their living conditions will be
better. Numerous migrants arrived on Lesbos directly from Istanbul and Izmir. In addition, many
others travelled to Samos and Chios from Izmir. Kos island was the main destination for refugees
gathering in the Turkish city of Bodrum. In total, 3,771 deaths were counted in the year 2015
(UNHCR(a)). One of them was Aylan Kurdi.

While Europe has been dealing with refugees from Syria for years, this was mainly considered a
southern European problem. Due to the explosive growth of the refugee problem, with 2,749 million
Syrians registered in Turkey (UNHCR(b), and the huge number of them trying to reach countries such
as Germany, all European countries are affected. When in the spring of 2015 the number of
drownings increased and the United Nations named it the biggest refugee crisis since the Second
World War (United Nations, 2016), European leaders were compelled to search for a structural
solution for the refugee problem, and several arrangements were made. Although the European
Union had already responded in May 2015 with the European Agenda on Migration (EU, 13 May,
2015), according to the media, politicians, and public opinion, the drowned boy photo should be an
eye-opener.

In March 2016, both NATO and the EU sent warships to Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. The naval
ships conducted reconnaissance and collected information about human trafficking networks. This

10
information was shared with the Greek and Turkish coastguards to help control illegal immigration.
NATO established direct links with Frontières extérieurs (Frontex), the European Union’s border
agency, which also had ships participating. Stoltenberg also mentioned the obligation to help people
in distress at sea, which is a general, universal responsibility stipulated by international law. It is
worth noting the European leaders’ quick decision-making, obviously motivated by increasing flow of
migrants into European countries and the mounting pressure this created. For example, the
Netherlands sent the frigate Van Amstel to the NATO mission for one month, and the same frigate
changed to the European Frontex mission for another month. With the participation of the navy, the
dividing line between humanitarization and securitization was crossed, however trying to avoid the
portrayal of migrants as a security threat. Hence, dealing with this security issue became a matter of
‘humanitarization of military intervention’ in order to stop the suffering of the refugees and end the
human trafficking by using heavily armed warships for a totally different task than traditional
warfare.

2.1 Traditional securitization

Security is a social construct. This claim is the central theme of the Copenhagen School, which
centred around the work of Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver (1998), combining traditional realism with
explicit constructivism. Wæver became known for the introduction of the term ‘securitization’ in the
context of international relations and security issues in Europe (McDonald, M. 2008b). Securitization
is the process of turning an issue into a security issue that legitimises the use of extraordinary
measures in responding to the perceived crisis. Wæver defined security as a ‘speech act’, with
securitization referring to a form of linguistic representation (speech) by a securitising agent that
positions a particular issue as an existential threat from a referent object and is accepted as such by a
relevant audience (i.e. public opinion, politicians, or the military). Therefore, anyone who states that
an issue is a security issue makes a political rather than an analytical decision (Eriksson, 1999: 315 ‘By
uttering “security”, a state-representative moves a particular development into a specific area, and
thereby claims a special right to use whatever means are necessary to block it’ (Buzan et.al., 1998:
26). The articulation of the threat itself comes in the form of a speech act, which begins the process
of securitization. In other words, it is discourse that does not report on things but rather does things.
(Leonard et.al. 2010: 57).

Securitization theory explains how public problems become security issues. These security issues can
take several forms: state-centric, with sovereignty as the focus; and social security, which is focussed
on identity and thus more people-, culture-, and population-centric. It is worth discussing whether

11
the definition of state security in securitization theory needs to be broadened to imply not only a
threat from a foreign country endangering the sovereignty of the state, but to also include economic,
cultural identity, and terrorist threats. The migrant crisis is, for a certain relevant audience, a social
security threat. This is in line with William Isaac Thomas, who stressed societal problems as
fundamental in a social world in which subjective impressions can be projected onto life, thereby
becoming real to those who project them. He defined his Thomas theorem as follows: ‘If men define
situations as real, they are real in their consequences’ (Thomas et.al., 1928).

2.2 Existential threat

Regarding the definition of an ‘existential threat’, the traditional meaning has to be refined and
adapted it in relation to securitization of the migrant crisis. An existential threat is a threat to
existence or survival (Mairs, 2012). If there is no danger to the existence of something or someone, it
cannot be defined as existential even if the threat is very serious. The statement ‘anxiety is the
existential awareness of nonbeing’ (Sullivan, et.al., 2012: 734) further explains that all experiences of
existential threat are varieties of anxiety, which serves as an interesting starting point. However, the
term ‘existing threat’ would be better suited to a more contemporary explanation of securitization.
For example, in a recent interview President Barack Obama said that terrorism does not pose an
existential threat to the United States (Schneier, 2015). The leading American think-tank RAND
Corporation said the same about Islamic State (IS), but they underlined that IS presents a ‘grave
threat’ to the United States and its interests (Campbell, 2016). These represent speech acts by
securitising actors according to traditional securitization theory. But if, as President Obama stated,
there is no existential threat, extraordinary actions by a securitising actor seem to be unnecessary.
Hence, visible and invisible security precautions taken by Obama are not considered extraordinary
measures because he stated that there is no existential threat. According to traditional securitization
theory, this implies that the security issue can be comprehended and managed within normal
politics, and therefore actually desecuritises the terrorism problem. According to Obama, in line with
securitization theory, these measures are not presented as extraordinary but are framed as normal
security measures, probably in order to desecuritise the terrorist threat.

In the case of the migrant crisis, some parties actually see the flow of (Muslim) migrants towards
Europe as an existential threat to their own culture. Threats to cultural identity may be manifested in
different languages, ethnicities, and religions. Survival for a society is a question of identity because
this is the way a society talks about existential threats: if this happens, we will no longer be able to
live as us (Ibrahim, 2005: 170). According to the scholars of the Copenhagen School, issues must be

12
labelled as existential threats in order to be securitised. Normal procedures only can be superseded
by extraordinary actions if the results of not doing so would be disastrous. So far, the Copenhagen
School only deals with threats to existence (Floyd, 2015); Doty (1998: 73) also defines security in
political/military terms as the protection of the boundaries and integrity of the state and its values
against the dangers of a hostile international environment. This rigid interpretation should be
modified. As Floyd mentions,

‘A more flexible view of security would allow the Copenhagen School to recognise that what matters for
the “success” of securitization is not whether or not threats are existential, and conversely that the security
response is extraordinary, but rather that practitioners believe the danger or harm a threat to their security
and what they do in response to the threat they themselves identify to be an implemented security issue.’
(Floyd, 2015: 15)

2.2.1 Human security

Protecting fundamental freedoms such as safety from pervasive threats is key to human security.
Therefore, tensions can arise between state security in the broadened definition articulated above
(protecting borders from economic, cultural, and terrorist threats) and human security. In a human-
centred approach, the migrants themselves are seen as threatening to the receiving countries’
populations. The human security aspect of the migrant crisis presents a dilemma: is there a threat to
the migrants and their fundamental rights under international humanitarian law, or a threat to
countries of the European Union? Buzan et.al (1998: 23) state that securitization is the act that goes
beyond the established political rules and frames the issue as either a special kind of politics or as
above politics. Just as an issue becomes securitised, if it is presented as an existential threat requiring
emergency measures and justifying action outside the normal bounds of political procedure. This
formulation can also apply the concept of human security. On the one hand, the public reaction has
been emotional, but on the other hand some members of the public and politicians consider the
migrant flow as a threat. This is the paradox of the people-centred approach: instead of focusing on
how to support migrants who are at risk, this paradigm increases their vulnerability. Thus, this
‘people-centred approach is detrimental to migrants as it leads one to question whose human
security is to be first protected, the citizen’s or the migrant’s? The citizen is at risk because the
incorporation of migrants will lead to an unstable host state’ (Ibrahim 2005: 169).

According to Koser (2005: 10) ‘Irregular migration is often described as constituting a threat to state
sovereignty” for example because terrorists can enter a country. The states have a sovereign right to

13
control who crosses their borders and by undermining that control, irregular migrants threaten
sovereignty’. A dilemma exists for European policy makers as to how to limit access to their
territories without undermining the human right to seek and enjoy protection (Koser, 2005: 4).
According to Lazarus (2016: 291), in the securitization-migration debate, the migrants are in general
considered as a cultural, criminal, terrorist, and economic threat. International human rights law and
EU policy are obliged to improve the situation. Deducing the migrant crisis from securitization to
humanitarization, the latter focuses on the ‘exceptional mobility of certain people who, in order to
escape wars and find a safe space to stay, must redouble their risky condition as escapees by risking
death at sea’ (Tazzioli, 2016). Humanitarization refers to a broader trend of humanitarian protection,
in this case by the navy. However, this dilemma is not easy to solve, and the tension remains.

2.3 Towards a new approach

The shift in approach and expansion of definitions are already taking place in contemporary politics.
For example, the United States (US) securitises issues that do not threaten the survival of their own
state, but also threats to the welfare of the nation or threats to other nations. Migrant issues in the
US were securitised by noting the implied terrorist threat in order to close the borders. Furthermore,
the war in Iraq was securitised by mentioning weapons of mass destruction that posed a threat to
other countries, and even the lack of human rights under the regime of Saddam Hussein (Wikipedia).

Reactions to a perceived existential threat related to the migrant crisis differ from audience to
audience. This underlines the importance of broadening the definition of relevant audiences as
elaborated by Balzacq (2005: 6). Allegedly, many citizens are concerned about their way of life, which
they consider to be under threat from the thousands of migrants ‘invading’ their countries. This can
foster intolerance towards migrants. Research conducted by Arwine & Mayer (2014: 679) concluded
that France and the Netherlands are the only countries of the eight included in their research that
perceived an overt threat from increasing migrants that led to more intolerance. Their key word was
‘tolerance’, meaning the ‘acceptance of the legitimacy of groups with attributes different from one’s
own. This legitimacy includes acceptance of their right to advocate values and interests that conflict
with one’s own values and interests’ (2014: 669). In the current migrant crisis, such intolerant
behaviour has been seen repeatedly, for example in demonstrations against asylum centres in
villages. Concerned citizens, regarded as a relevant audience in the enhanced securitization theory,
fear decreased value of houses when an asylum centre is near, and a growing group of ordinary
citizens even refer to refugees with the terms ‘criminals’, ‘terrorists’, and ‘rapists’. Several EU
member states reinstated border controls or built fences within the Schengen zone. Hence, it is in

14
certain European countries’ interest to securitise the migrants, thereby ensuring security for their
citizens. Although much is written about securitization as a concept, the extraordinary measures are
not elaborated on aside from the above-stated emergency measures, and thus they remain vague.
Extraordinary measures are those measures that go beyond normally accepted political acts. But
what is ‘normal’? In the case of the migrant crisis, closing the borders can be defined as an
extraordinary measure. The Schengen agreement that developed from 1985 onwards guaranteed
free movement of persons and trade within the European Union, and opened all European borders
as part of normal and accepted operating procedures. Based on this agreement, closing the borders
is anomalous and can therefore be seen as an extraordinary measure beyond normal politics.

2.4 Criticism of traditional securitization theory

Academic literature reveals a vivid discussion about securitization and angles of view. First,
traditional securitization theory is about words and considers securitization as a speech act (Wæver,
1995: 55). Security is not of interest as a sign that refers to something more real; the utterance itself
is the act. Wæver refers to the use of speech as defined by Austin (1975), stating that the
articulations of the threat themselves come in the form of speech acts. In the traditional approach,
the word ‘security’ refers to the act of saying something, and it is therefore only focussed on words.
Second, the term ‘security’ needs broadening because the traditional meaning refers to state or
military security. However, ‘the field has been challenged to consider the broadening of its agenda to
include threats beyond the narrow rubric of state and military securitization and to deepen the
agenda to include human security’ (Williams, 2003: 512). There are more critics of the narrowness of
the Copenhagen School’s exclusive focus on speech. McDonald (2008a: 570) mentions the ‘Paris
School’, who emphasise that security is ‘constructed and applied to different issues and areas
through a range of often routinized practices rather than only through specific speech acts that
enable emergency measures.’ This is where photographs as visual images can be involved in the
securitization framework as a form of a securitising action. Hansen (2007) and Williams (2003, 2011),
among others, describe this aspect.

According to Williams (2003: 513), ‘Issues become securitised and treated as security issues through
speech acts which do not simply describe an existing security situation, but bring it into being as a
security situation by successfully representing it as such’. He argues that the Copenhagen School
speech act theory that assumes spoken words is in essence about linguistic terms, and the
‘securitising actor’ refers to the position of the speaker. This is contrary to the contemporary
environment in which images dominate. Williams (2003: 526) states, ‘It seems clear that any theory

15
that is premised on the social impact of communicative action must assess the impact that different
mediums of communication have on the acts, their impacts, and their influence on the processes of
securitization.’ In short, Williams (2011: 213) claims that ‘various scholars share the view that
traditional securitization theory has not reached its full potential and needs further development’.

Several scholars and critics including Balzacq (2005) mention the lack of precision and clarity on the
exact role of the audience in the securitization process. For example, it is not clear what the
acceptance of the audience entails and exactly how it could be identified in practice. “A ‘significant
audience’ must concur with the securitising actor on the threatening nature of the ‘referent object’,
the thing or group that threatens” (Balzacq, 2005: 173). The most fundamental criticism is that the
Copenhagen School remain vague on how to identify the audience of a securitization speech act. In
Balzacq’s (2005: 174) view, the Copenhagen School neglect the configuration of circumstances in
which a securitising speech act takes place, including the context and the power that both speaker
and listener bring to the interaction. Migration in the European Union is the issue to which
securitization theory has been applied most frequently. In this case, it is considered to be related to
identity, and therefore associated with a threat to societal security (Balzacq et al., 2015: 15).
According to several scholars like Huysmans and Bigo mentioned in Balzacq (2015: 17), asylum and
migration have been successfully securitised in Europe through constructing migration as a cultural
and socio-economic threat. Neglecting that increases the risk of violence between nationalities.
Another proposed modification of traditional securitization theory is recognizing that the discourse
around securitising migration does not solely focus on utterances by politicians as securitising actors,
but is articulated around socio-economic factors, security, identity, and politics. These can be
politicians, security agencies, or the media (Balzacq et. al., 2015: 16). In this context the role of
images in the media is central.

Fear and other emotions are crucial aspects of security issues and the ways politics deals with them.
This is the central theme of Van Rythoven (2015). His criticism of traditional securitization theory
concerns its neglect of the important role of emotions in the construction of threats and their
influence on the audience. Threat construction is an emotional phenomenon, but fear plays no
significant role in traditional securitization theory (Van Rythoven, 2015: 459). However, there are
some references to emotion in the literature; for example, Vuori (2010: 260) states that ‘images can
evoke emotions that thereby facilitate the ‘purchase’ of a securitization argument,’ and Hansen
(2011: 6) mentions that ‘images do bring a particular power of the portrayal of death and violence
and that narratives that are un-illustrated can struggle to convey the horror evident in many
circumstances’. So far, beside from the recognition that images do matter due to their capacity to

16
evoke emotions, so far no research has analysed the influence of emotions on securitization. Van
Rythoven (2015: 461,462) argues that understanding the role of emotions in securitization requires
recognising their important role in speech acts of securitising actors.

2.5 The power of images

In academic debates there is a growing sense that images need further attention with regard to their
purported influence on securitization in international relations (Hansen, 2011; Erika Kirkpatrick,
2015; Williams, 2003). Williams (2003) elaborates on how images themselves function as
communicative acts, and argues that securitization theory must pay attention to the visual aspects of
security, making a distinction between words and images. He states that the traditional definition of
a speech act is too narrow in the contemporary environment in which (visual) communication is
complex and rapid, and its influence on politics has not yet been fully taken into account. This is
certainly due to increasing security issues and the use of extraordinary measures more often.
Williams questions ‘whether a theory so closely tied to speech for its explanatory and ethical position
is capable of addressing the dynamics of security in the world where political communication is
increasingly bound to images’ (Williams, 2003:524). Contemporary media, including smartphones
with direct access to social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, represent a central element
in security relations. The scope of the term ‘security’ is broadening. Another different but related
angle is the example of the recent discussion of the influence of colours in the study of visual
securitization (Guillaume et.al, 2015: 6). One can argue that black-and-white images and
photographs turn out to have a different effect on a relevant audience than colour photographs. This
remains outside the scope of this thesis, but emphasises the growing discussion on other visual
factors. Therefore, just as securitization using words is a construct, the same applies to securitization
using images. This requires examination of the ways in which images themselves may function as
communicative acts, and how photographs and television impact different audiences, leading to
securitization. In the context of defining an existential threat, Williams (2003: 515) elaborates on the
Schmittian legacy that states an issue becomes political based on “the intense relationship that the
actor feels toward it. Any issue is capable of securitization if it can be intensified to the point where it
is presented and accepted as an existential threat” (Williams, 2003: 516).

Hansen (2011: 3) argues that the study of the CNN effect has been crucial for raising the question of
the power of images and how they can lead to foreign policy responses. The study of visual
securitization is engaging with the processes through which images come to have political
implications. Hansen states that a policy response never arises from an image itself. The visual does

17
not enter into the political without being the subject of debate or engaging with the discourses
already in place. She suggests that visual securitization can be studied through four components: the
image itself, how the image interacts with text (intertext), the wider policy discourse, and the texts
ascribing meaning to the image. Mitchell cited by Hansen (2011: 4) also mentions that images cannot
speak for themselves; without accompanying text, they do not communicate ‘security’. David
Campbell holds the same position (2004: 62-63): the differences and similarities between words and
images are not to be neglected. Campbell argues that photographic images never exist in isolation
but are made available through an intertextual setting. ‘The discussion of whether visuals are able to
securitise is important for our understanding of the capacity of images to generate and participate in
security discourse’ (Hansen, 2011: 5).

In their study examining how individuals process media messages in a cognitive or affective manner,
Domke et.al (2002: 147) note that it is an old assumption that striking images have a particularly
strong impact on public opinion and in turn on the political behaviour of individuals; however, they
conclude that in reality individuals can be persuaded by images, but pre-existing values, feelings, and
cognitions often play a role in how images are viewed, interpreted, and acted upon. Vivid images
often shape public opinion and the political behaviour of individuals, but the assumption that they
have a strong impact is overly simplistic. Certainly such visual influence can occur, and political elites
often make claims to this effect; hence, the difficulty of predicting reactions and actions is
paramount. Susan Sontag also states that:

‘Photographs bringing news of some unexpected zone of misery cannot make a dent in public opinion
unless there is an appropriate context of feeling and attitude. Photographs cannot create a moral position
but they can reinforce one and can help build a nascent one’. (cited by Campbell, 2004: 63)

An example of this is the British Prime Minister David Cameron’s approval of asylum for thousands of
additional Syrian refugees after the publication of the photographs of the drowned boy, which struck
him deeply (Freedland, 2015). Perlmutter (1998: 149) argues that although it is sometimes said that
the public and political elites were shocked, there is little or no empirical evidence that this is actually
the case. His findings suggest that while ‘the power of visual images may not necessarily lie in their
ability to persuade individuals to adopt perspectives that align closely with the manifest content of
an image’, images do have a powerful ability to trigger people’s activated concerns; recognition and
reaction do not always predict the nature of the audience response. Perlmutter notes that he is
unable to offer concrete evidence of the actual relations between mental constructs, and suggests
further research. Bleiker and Kay cited by Kirckpatrick (2015: 10) argue that photographs are political,

18
and that this dynamic becomes more acute when photographs enter mass media. The key point they
make is that different methods of photography embody different forms of representation and
therefore influencing political viewpoints. Bleiker and Kay identify three archetypes of photography:

‘Naturalist photography tries to reflect an objective reality by remaining neutral and value-free. Humanist
photography tries to invoke compassion and social change by photographing human suffering; it entails a
normative element. Pluralist photography shares the normative goals of humanist photography, except in an
emancipatory sense wherein external iconic representations are rejected and the focus is situated on practices
which create multiple sites of representation’. (Kirkpatrick, 2015: 10).

These different approaches lead to different responses to international political events. The
photographs of migrants suffering or even deceased people can be defined as humanist
photography. In this context, the appropriation of images can be discussed. One of the leading
authors with regard to visual storytelling and the influence of images in a broad context is David
Campbell. In his example about picturing the Darfur crisis (2007: 372), he demonstrates that the
central point of photography is not only visual but that all media are mixed, and the meaning of an
image is heavily affected by the text that serves as a caption. By showing images of migrants arriving
by boat and gathering in front of borders, the media allegedly portray the current crisis as
threatening Western civilisation with an abundance of foreigners; however, with proper
accompanying texts, these images can also focus on the terrible situation the refugees are fleeing
from: the war in Syria that has to end in order to stop the migrant crisis. Hence the role of the media
in choosing the photographs displayed and published is paramount. It is important to understand
that photographs are carriers of information as symbols that prompt affective responses. As
Campbell (2007: 380) describes an example of photographs of refugees from Darfur. As an analogy,
the photographs of migrants do not just tell us that there are thousands fleeing from war; they also
tell as how we should feel about the migrants fleeing from war-torn countries today, risking their
lives in small rubber boats in the crossing from Turkey to Greece. The photographers and media
outlets publishing these pictures supposedly hope that the audience ‘will feel moved and
responsible’ (2007: 380). Campbell (2012: 2) states, ‘The dream of photojournalism is that when a
crisis is pictured, the image will have an effect on its audience, leading to action.’ In his article, he
discusses the hypothesis of compassion fatigue that occurs when people are confronted with
shocking images. In his research he concluded that people still respond eagerly to calls for charity,
and that there is no evidence of compassion fatigue or significant reduction in attention in relation to
photographs; however, he notes that compassion alone cannot be the basis for political mobilization,
as individuals are incapable of generating the shift from singular expression to collective action. He

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ends by concluding that the term ‘compassion fatigue’ is not suited effects of photojournalism.
Hence, the audience is not indifferent for the suffering of others and interested in the political
debate how to solve the issue related to the picture. It is this condition of viewing the photographs in
modern societies that audiences can disengage (Campbell, 2004: 63). In line with Campbell, the
picture of the drowned boy combined with the paradigm of immediacy regulating media conduct—
premised on the idea that the truth of a conflict can be found at a particular time and place—
resulted in the disappearance of many of the political dynamics in the discourse surrounding the
migrant crisis in Europe (Kirkpatrick, 2015: 11). The drowned boy picture alone cannot change the
situation. It has to be set in the context of the migrant crisis.

Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites (cited in Icons of War, 2012: 51) state that media
performance equates to a traffic in bodies, and that iconic photojournalism provides audiences with
powerful emotional experiences. The focus on bodily expression displays emotions, thus placing the
viewer in an affective relationship with people in the photograph. According to Hariman and
Lucaites, democratic societies need emotional resources that have to be communicated through the
public media. Thus, iconic images are emotional because they are born in conflict or confusion.

Perlmutter (2004: 94) studied why images are chosen and how specific images represent the events
with which they are connected. He illuminates how famous pictures can be appreciated not just as
striking images but also as rhetorical tools appropriated by diverse parties to support their
statements. He emphasises that the actual effect of pictures is not predictable and their
interpretation is subject to change and debate, as Domke (2002: 104) also mentions. Perlmutter
concludes that the study of imagery must focus not only on reception analysis and general content
analysis, but also on icon analysis and that images are related to events. Whether photographs
become icons can be attributed to political, aesthetic, and industrial choices. This means that
showing a certain picture framed in a particular way or in a certain context influences its
development into an iconic image.

The influence of images in politics is paramount and deserve a prominent role in contemporary
securitization theory.

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 3. Analysing an icon

‘Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs
do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.’
Eddie Adams

Hansen’s (2015) article ‘How images make world politics’ provides theoretical insight on icons in
international relations. In her article, she provides a set of concepts and distinctions in order to
identify international icons because: ‘Icons have not been explicitly theorized within international
relations (IR), nor have they been subjected to empirical studies’. (Hansen 2015: 266). To this end,
she developed a theoretical framework to evaluate the impact of icons on world politics. She
analyses the ‘hooded man’ picture, an iconic photo of a prisoner in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in
2003. Based on the iconic image itself, the political impact, and the appropriations, she concludes her
article by stating that the study of international icons and their influence on politics is never finished
(Hansen, 2015: 288). This conclusion and her theoretical framework are relevant to this analysis of
the ways in which the images of the drowned boy impacted and quickened the actions of the
international community to solve the crisis. The thesis elaborates on her research and model by
analysing the drowned boy picture from September 2015. The sequence of the second and third
steps are changed because the iconic image and appropriations are directly related to the
international status and political impact and therefore both influence the impact of the images. The
model is structured as follows (Hansen, 2015: 277):

Step 1: The iconic image itself

- What is the formal composition of the image and what do we actually see?
- What ‘factual’ meaning is attributed to the image?
- What inter-iconicity is evident in or attributed to the image?
- When multiple images exist, what might explain this image’s rise to iconic status?

Step 2: Appropriations of the icon

- What is the range of appropriations in terms of media and geographical location?
- Which appropriations are singled out as making critical interventions and why?
- Which alternative readings of ‘the critical’ might be possible?
- Are there discernible limits to appropriation?

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Step 3: The international status and political impact of the icon
- In terms of circulation, is the icon a foreign policy, regional, or global icon?
- How is ‘the international’ constituted through the icon and discourses attributing meaning to it?
- What political impact has the icon made and according to which criteria?

3.1 Step 1: The iconic image itself

Around the world, the media published images of the drama of the drowned boy (Berenson, 2015),
often accompanied by touching captions, or compared to other iconic pictures such as the 1972
Vietnamese ‘napalm girl’ and Kevin Carter’s 1994 vulture waiting for a Sudanese child to die (CNN, 15
August 2015). There are several photographs of the drowned boy. The pictures are part of a larger
series by the Turkish journalist Nilüfer Demir working for a Turkish press agency, taken while she was
waiting on the beach for refugees to come ashore (Rossington, 2015). The photographer took a
series of photographs of the drama in which twelve people died, including the pictures of the
drowned boy. Both in newspapers and on social media, three photographs of the drowned toddler
spread rapidly around the world. A photograph frequently published in newspapers was the image of
the police officer carrying away the body. The second most published was the photograph of the
police officer taking notes with the body still in the sea. Only a few newspapers published the
cropped picture of the dead body without any background. A possible explanation could be that this
picture was apparently too direct, cruel, confronting, and inhumane compared to the other
harrowing photos of the police officer showing some humanity and care. The Visual Social Media Lab
(2015) researched the response to the images on social media. They did not make a distinction
between the different photographs aside from mentioning two images that became iconic instead of
the three cited above. Robert Bleiker mentions another aspect that can explain the response to the
images He states that in the last decade, refugees are mostly pictured in medium or large groups
with a focus on boats (2015: 884). According to him, ‘the absence of individuals [migrants] with
recognisable facial features, associates refugees not with a humanitarian challenge, but with threats
to sovereignty and security’ (Bleiker, 2015: 885). The focus now on an individual, even a toddler,
may partially explain the emotional reactions to the drowned boy picture. The cropped images (from
different angles) of the drowned boy alone face-down in the sand (Figure 3) are the most circulated
on social media (Vis, 2015a) and often appropriated to this day. This is probably due to the
confronting nature of the scene and the innocence of childhood evoked by the boy’s shoes. For this
reason, I analyse the images of the drowned boy alone, mentioning other photos specifically when
appropriate.

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Figure 1: Turkish police officer carrying the body of Aylan Kurdi. Image by: AFP/Dogan News Agency

Figure 2: Turkish police officer taking notes behind Aylan Kurdi’s body. Image by: AFP/Dogan News Agency

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 Figure 3: Aylan Kurdi’s body alone in the surf. Image by: AFP/Dogan News Agency

3.1.1 Is the Aylan Kurdi photograph iconic?

There is not one solid definition for determining whether an image is iconic or not. Most existing
studies about icons focus on photographic icons. Mitchel (cited by Hansen 2015: 272) defines icons
as world pictures that are globally circulated and instantly recognised, and which require only
minimal cues, whether visual or verbal, to be remembered. An iconic photograph ‘must go beyond
photojournalism’s ritual repetition of special people, events, and emotions, and the image must add
value to conventional forms [of photojournalism]’. (Hariman and Lucaites, cited in Icons of War: 49).
Hariman and Lucaites argue the power of the icon—the ‘unsayable’—over language. As for the
drowned boy image, one can say that young toddlers conventionally and generally are not shown
dead in photographs, so this is an extraordinary situation. Hariman and Lucaites (2007: 27) define
icons as ‘those photographic images appearing in print, electronic, or digital media that are widely
recognised and remembered, are understood to be representations of historically significant events,
activate strong emotional identification or response, and are reproduced across a range of media,
genres, or topics’. Hansen (2015: 268) uses the same definition, but broadens it to include any visual
genre. Thus, she also mentions drawings, paintings, cartoons, and prints, acknowledging that they
vary in the way the audiences are expected to respond (2015: 269). As Hansen used the ‘hooded
man’ photograph from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as a research subject, she mentions the
numerous ways the image has been appropriated across a variety of media and locations as one of

24
the pillars of iconicity (2015: 264). She states, ‘Icons are images that through their widespread
circulation function as nodal points’ (2015: 274). The standard is not the number of publications or
reproductions, but the way the image is used and reproduced. Perlmutter (2004: 94) adds that
pictures of tragedies can be considered as metonyms, images that are taken to stand for a wider
event, in this case the entire migrant crisis in Europe and the urge for a solution.

The photograph in question depicts a young toddler lying motionless on his belly with his right cheek
partly covered in sand. His eyes are closed and he is wearing a red, short-sleeved t-shirt that is
partially rolled up. A small piece of his uncovered back is visible. He wears dark blue shorts just over
the knee and Velcro-fastened shoes with rubber soles on his feet. His short dark hair looks recently
cut, and is wet. His left hand is half-open and softly draped in the sand. His knees are bent gently.
Somehow it looks like he is sleeping like a baby in his cradle. However, the boy’s skin is pale, his head
drooping, and his nose and mouth partly in the sand and water as a small wave laps at his face. Based
on its position, it cannot be determined how the body ended up there. The sea in the photo is calm.
The sand looks dark, with pieces of shells and crushed stones: the setting could be anywhere. But
seeing the boy abandoned and neglected in this way seems extraordinary, even unbearable. On the
other hand, a kind of serenity can be observed. The composition is simple and does not seem to be
technically prodigious. However, it is eye-catching due to the dominant colours, blue and red.

‘International icons are freestanding images, widely circulated, emotionally evocative, and seen as
representing significant historical events’ (Hansen, 2015: 263). At first glance, this definition suits the
drowned boy photograph. Images tend to grow in stature as time passes by. The picture of Aylan
alone in the surf will most likely be remembered due to identification and recognition. Whether this
photograph will continue to be iconic remains to be seen.

3.1.2 Intericonicity

Intericonicity is defined as the condition of translatability and play between images or imagetexts
(Kourdis & Yoka, 2012). According to Vis (2015b), there are references to Christian iconography: the
picture of Aylan alone lying in the water is the image of suffering. The photo of the policemen
carrying him away refers to the sculpture of the Pietà, an historic image in Christian art. This
sculpture, made by Michelangelo in 1498, depicts the dead Jesus Christ with his mother Mary shortly
after his crucifixion. Mary looks sad, but it appears that Jesus is still alive and simply sleeping on
Mary’s lab. There is no sign of violence. The photograph of the police officer gently carrying away the
body of the drowned boy, who also appears to sleep without signs of violence, can be seen as a

25
reference to the sculpture. In these pictures, Aylan Kurdi’s suffering was the fatal boat ride while
trying to flee from fear and danger.

figure 4 Comparison of the Turkish Police officer carrying the body (Image by: AFP/Dogan News Agency) with Michelangelo’s
Pietà (photographer unknown).

Another remarkable aspect is the boy’s name: ‘A(y)lan’ in Kurdish means ‘flag-bearer’. In this case,
the name creates intericonicity, as Aylan proved his destiny as flag-bearer in this humanitarian
catastrophe and became the symbol of the migrant crisis (Vis, 2015b).

3.1.3 Factual meaning attributed to the image

Although the pictures most published in newspapers seem to be the policeman carrying away the
body or making notes behind the boy, the zoomed-in picture appears to be the most confronting, but
is also the most ‘ordinary’ photo. The latter does not reveal any clues about the specific location,
time, context, or the nationality of the child. The photograph itself shows the visual contrast
between the blue background and the lively colours of the boy’s clothes, depicting a sort of serenity.
Hence, the boy is the direct eye-catcher, raising multiple questions in the audience. These questions
are addressed in the newspaper captions. Text informs the audience that this is a Turkish beach
where the body of a young Syrian refugee boy washed up who drowned due to the collapse of the
boat while he was trying to reach a Greek island.

A highly likely answer to the question of why the Aylan Kurdi photographs were chosen and went
viral is recognition and identification. These pictures were indeed recognizable for the relevant
audience because the boy is dressed in clothes our children have, and possibly because his skin is
white. ‘He could be our son’ could be a reasonable conclusion. Peter Bouckaert (Human Rights
Watch) evokes this by describing the shoes Aylan wears as the shoes we put on our own children

26
every day. His parents had dressed him lovingly that morning in preparation for their journey. In
addition, the time was right: people needed a wake-up call to the continuing tragedies in the Aegean
Sea. The Aylan Kurdi pictures stand for other victims as well, showing that it was the moment to act.
The fact that the boy appeared to be asleep and innocent was the leading argument for the decision
of the Dutch newspaper Trouw to publish the photo of Aylan alone on its front page. Often, these
kinds of pictures show signs of decomposition, but this wasn’t the case in the Aylan Kurdi photo. The
Guardian chose the photo of the policeman carrying away the body, arguing that the tender act of
lifting and cradling the body made the image more humane. The photograph of Aylan alone in the
water was too desolate for them (Argos TV-Medialogica).

3.2 Step 2: Appropriations of the icon

Describing appropriations is one way to discuss the public impact of an image. Besides being a
separate step in the model, appropriations can be included in the discussion about the political and
international impact and can lead to securitization. Appropriation is often considered a tactic of
dissent or political protest (Glassco, 2012: 2) and is therefore politically relevant, though its direct
influence on political debate is difficult to analyse. In appropriation, the original composition of an
image is used and re-contextualized in order to embody the artist’s critique of events or situations,
often in a confronting way, presented directly to the audience. This shows the artist’s displeasure
and makes a statement that the public cares, appealing to a relevant actor, often the political
leadership, urging a reaction. With the Aylan Kurdi pictures, the child became the symbol of the
thousands of refugees who have drowned.

The Oxford Dictionary defines appropriation as ‘the deliberate reworking of images and styles from
earlier, well-known works of art.’ Another definition is ‘the intentional borrowing, copying, and
alteration of pre-existing images and objects’ in a new work (MoMa). Appropriation is most often
linked to art that takes a recognizable object, text, or image and recontextualises it (Remixthebook).
In the new context, the associations that the audience has with the appropriated object are
subverted, so the viewer is forced to re-examine the context. Therefore, appropriated art is often
political, satirical, and/or ironic. In separating images from the original context of their own media,
we allow them to take on new and varied meanings (Rowe, 2011). Images and elements of culture
that have been appropriated are usually famous and recognizable works of art, well-known
literature, and easily accessible images from the media. Hansen (2015: 276) elaborates on the
influence of appropriation because it is due to this that images remain in circulation and become part
of the collective memory. A frequently used form of appropriation features an icon, but with new

27
objects added or parts of the original image taken out (Hansen, 2015: 276). Besides the ‘hooded
man’ picture described by Hansen, the poster from Barack Obama’s ‘hope’ campaign, Andy Warhol’s
paintings of Marilyn Monroe, various appropriations of Edward Munch’s The Scream, and even
models wearing Indian ornaments can be defined as appropriations. Due to the prevalence of photo-
shopping, this form of appropriation is often used in the case of photographic icons.

Just days after the publication of the original photograph, the image of Aylan Kurdi was used in
several new settings and intervisual references around the world. Most appropriations were an
appeal on the humanitarian aspect depicting the security and suffering of migrants as their lives are
at stake. A striking example of an appropriation is a photograph of the famous persecuted Chinese
artist Ai Weiwei. He recreated the image of the drowned boy Aylan Kurdi with his own body (Tan,
2015). For his recreation of the original picture, Weiwei lay down on the pebbles of a beach on a
Greek island in the same position as the toddler’s body (Dabashi, 4 February 2016). However, the
question is: for what purpose? At first glance this image can be seen either as a meaningless tribute
to Aylan or as selfish attention-seeking. It is very likely that Weiwei’s aim was to raise awareness of
the migrants from a human security point of view. As mentioned before, the image of the dead Aylan
Kurdi invoked emotion, compassion, and frustration about the continuing suffering of migrants
without any prospect for a solution. The producer of the scene, Andy Angus, stated, ‘It is an iconic
image because it is very political, human, and involves an incredibly important artist like Weiwei.’ The
statement that this picture was very political is not proven and therefore doubtful. It seems beyond
dispute that Weiwei is concerned about the fate of the refugees: ‘The only solution is humanity, this
is not a regional problem; it is a human problem. We have to trust in humanity but not trust in
politicians’ (Brown, 19 May 2016). Weiwei himself declared that this was a personal act, an artist
trying not just to watch events but to engage; he made this decision spontaneously. Although this
recreation reached the world press, it raises the question of whether he succeeded in his goal by
posing on the beach like the drowned boy.

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Figure 5: Chinese artist Weiwei recreates Aylan’s drowning. Photo: Rohit Chawla.

Relating this image to the theory of visual imaging in which the political effects of pictures depend on
the actions of political leaders (Perlmutter, 2005: 121) This picture seems to have been
overestimated by the artist and producers: they stated that this was an iconic, political image, but
aside from some critical opinions and media coverage, this appropriation did not receive much
attention. It is interesting to analyse the rationales behind the various appropriations that appeared
online not long after September 2015. For example, a Finnish artist recreated the scene with a
sculpture in a glass case showing a lifelike wax doll with the same clothes as Aylan positioned the
way he was found (Akbar, 2016). Is this emotional or just uncanny? Without context no direct
rationale can be found.

Figure 6: Finnish artist Pekka Jylhä created a lifelike doll of Aylan Kurdi. Image by REX/Shutterstock.

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Another ‘tribute’ to Aylan was made by the Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik, who made an
enormous sand sculpture of Aylan Kurdi. According to the accompanying text, he is ashamed of the
lack of urgency in politicians to solve the migrant crisis (Times Now, 12 March 2016).

Figure 7: Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik creates a sand sculpture.

Parande, S. (india.com). Photographer unknown.

Securitising the other way around shows the ‘possible threat’ of migrants hence aiming towards the
risk for western countries and their citizens. This is depicted in a controversial cartoon from Charlie
Hebdo published 13 January, 2016. A grown-up Aylan Kurdi chases a Western woman, a reference to
the events that occurred in Cologne in December 2015 in which a number of women were sexually
assaulted by assumed migrants. The first securitising satirical cartoons of this kind were published 26
September, directly after the drowned boy photo appeared.

Figure 8: Charlie Hebdo securitises Aylan Kurdi and the migrant crisis. Cartoons by Charlie Hebdo, Sourisseau, L.

The above-mentioned examples of appropriation, along with many that could not be included, show
that artists, being part of the relevant audience in securitization, are involved and that the issue is
‘alive’. Although Hariman (2007) states that ‘Iconic images are an important example of how modern
public life depends on the appropriation and recirculation of images across a wide range of media,
arts, genres, topics, and audiences,’ it is not to be expected that the Aylan Kurdi picture will be used

30
on mousepads, t-shirts, and coffee mugs. Most likely this picture will show up being used as a
grievous, generic icon and a symbol of the impotent sentiment that ‘politicians couldn’t hide
anymore behind empty statements for much longer’ (Micallef, 2015).

3.3 Step 3: Circulation, the international and political impact

The peak of debate and opinion-making occurs just days after the publication of an image (Vis,
2015a). According to world newspaper headlines, trending topics on Twitter, and attention from
world leaders, this icon was global for a short time. After the initial shock, the attention faded and
the icon was used mainly in debates on how to handle the migrant crisis or in urging for a solution.
Hence, the icon is international because this issue concerns all European countries.

3.3.1 Political impact

The more ill-defined or unclear policy about a certain (security) issue is, the more influence the
media can have (Robinson 1999: 305). Hence, journalists, opinion-makers, and photographers are
often critical and are able to frame the issue and set the agenda in order to force governments to
take action. On the other hand, media effects on policy decrease when there is more clarity about
political solutions for certain issues. Both situations are termed the ‘CNN effect’ (Robinson, 1999),
though analysing the political impact of images is complicated. In her article, Hansen (2015) provides
a set of concepts and distinctions that allow the identification of international icons and the
development of a theoretical framework through which it is possible to analyse the ways in which
icons impact world politics. A distinction she makes is the difference between discrete and generic
icons:

‘Discrete images are single images with a definitive set of elements. A generic image appears when certain
elements of the image are repeated over and over so that despite various subjects, times, and locations, the
basic scene becomes a familiar staple as a visual cliché.’ (Hansen, 2015: 269)

Generic images are often used to illustrate articles or news items. Although the image may have a
pre-existing link with the news item, without any attribution, accompanying caption, or credits, this
can be misleading for the audience. However, the use of generic images can underline the iconic
status of a formerly discrete image. Mette Mortensen (2011: 13) describes this as an ‘icon’s iconicity,’
which is the use of images as generic icons in order to confirm the discrete image’s iconic status. In
newspaper headlines, the drowned boy photograph appeared in three different forms: the close-up
cropped picture, the image of the policeman behind the boy, and the policeman carrying the boy.

31
Because the photographs of Aylan Kurdi are generalised in the media, they fit the definition of a
discrete image.

The securitization of migration in the European Union in general is described by Jef Huysmans (2000:
757). Migrants are framed as a security problem which differs from a policy issue, emphasizing that
asylum is a question of human rights. Regarding the existential threat, it is the political and social
identification of a community that define the threat. It is this audience’s definition of a ‘good life’
that is endangered by migrants who have a different culture and are assumed to bring criminal
activity. The refugees are easily pictured as culturally different. Huysmans mentions the example of
the ‘clash of civilizations’ identifying multiculturalism as a cause of societal disintegration (Huysmans,
2000: 763). This mind-set dwells on the threat of other cultures endangering the survival of one’s
own culture and of Western civilisation (Huysmans, 2000: 758). Migration in Western Europe was
already securitised in 2000 when migration policy was integrated into an internal security
framework. Nowadays, the same tendency can be seen in Europe. Eastern European countries build
fences and walls to protect their borders, and public opinion in several countries is changing as
individual citizens demonstrate against asylum centres in their city or neighbourhood. Recently, after
the mass assault of women in Cologne, fingers were pointed at migrants as the perpetrators.
Regardless of whether this is true, the events became a security issue directly related to the migrant
flow, resulting in a divided Europe. The existential threat in securitization can be considered two
ways in a human-centred approach (Ibrahim, 2005: 169). In the first, the people who are in danger
are the migrants risking their lives to cross the Aegean Sea in rickety boats to escape war and fear. In
the second, the migrants themselves are seen as threatening to the Western population who receive
the migrants in their countries and communities. This opposition raises the crucial question of who
should be protected: the migrant or the citizen?

German Prime Minister Angela Merkel referred to Germany’s ability to take in migrants in her
statement ‘Wir Schaffen Das’ (Tagesschau, 14 December, 2015). However, Merkel stated this in an
assembly meeting on the 31st of August, days before the publication of the photos of the drowned
boy. She repeated this several times later, bringing up Aylan Kurdi. According to the BBC (4
September, 2015), British Prime Minister Cameron stated that he had granted permission for asylum
for thousands of Syrians instead of the hundreds he had mentioned before. This decision came days
after the publication of the pictures. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte commented that the picture
horrified him, but also motivated him to do something as a politician; he remarked that this was the
limit, and something had to be done (Eénvandaag, 3 September 2015). French President Hollande
phoned Turkish President Erdogan and other European leaders, insisting that we have a

32
responsibility towards migrants (Daily Saba, 3 September 2015). Besides the political impact and
reactions to the photo, there was also an enormous humanitarian response. Numerous non-
governmental organizations like UNHCR, the Red Cross, and the International Rescue Committee are
involved in helping migrants. Numerous initiatives of ordinary civilians varying from large semi-
organized groups to individuals who felt compelled to do something travelled to the Greek islands to
carry out voluntary work in order to assist the arriving migrants. Each individual seemed to have his
or her own reasons to help, but many were inspired by the shocking images and pushed to the
decision point when the photos of Aylan appeared (Smouter, 2016). The impact of the Aylan Kurdi
pictures in mobilising civilian initiatives appears paramount. The above-mentioned reactions of
European leaders appear primarily emotional, underlining the human aspect so it can be ambiguous
what policy prevails.

From a defence perspective, the European Union agreed to intensify border patrols at sea from
March 2016 onward by sending more war ships to the European Union Frontex mission and the
Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) in order to gather information on migrant flows and patrol
the smuggling routes, aiming to discourage human trafficking and reduce the migrant flows. This
situation indicates the crossing of the boundaries between military engagement (alliance and state-
centric in traditional securitization theory) and human aid (humanitarization of military intervention).
So far the missions have succeeded, as 15 May, 2016 was the first day without any migrants arriving
on the Greek islands. One sailor stated that the situation deeply impressed him: ‘In my home country
people are protesting against migrants, but we witness [the migration] ourselves’ (Elshout, 2016).
These kinds of reactions support the idea that people have to witness something before they react or
feel empathy. This is similar to the reactions to the Aylan Kurdi photographs: the situation was given
a face and touched the relevant audience’s feelings.

3.3.2 The dilemma visualised

With the current knowledge of the dilemmas in the humanitarization of military intervention, the
power of images is not to be underestimated. Ships’ crews are struggling with their missions and
being confronted with migrants desperately seeking security, but at the same time these ships are
protecting European borders and preventing the same migrants from coming to Europe. Therefore,
questions arise regarding the photographs published in newspapers of the Dutch Minister of Defence
visiting the Frontex mission (Volkskrant, week 16, 2016). The photos depict a speedboat making a
turn and people roaring with laughter. ‘Dutch border guards have to continue their work on the
Greek isles,’ according to the Dutch Minister of Defence (Telegraaf, 12 April, 2016). In this press

33
statement, the security of the migrants is not mentioned. Images without context or captions are
difficult to interpret and don’t simply communicate security (Mitchell, 2005). This works both ways.
Without knowing the context, the pictures are quite innocuous: another nice introduction of military
assets. However, knowing that this picture was taken during the migrant crisis and in the specific
operation area, this seems out of place. Rather than showing empathy with the situation as a
‘security issue’, it confused the relevant audience and unintentionally directed attention away from
the human security aspect of the crisis. At that same moment the dilemma of human security versus
border security is still present for the military. Hence these pictures are less suitable for publication
when linked to the migrant crisis, which emphasises the power of images.

Figures 9 and 10: Dutch Defence Minister visits Frontex mission in the Aegean Sea. Image by ANP.

34
 4. Conclusion

This thesis examines the question: to what extent have the drowned boy photographs contributed to
and influenced (visual) securitization of the migrant crisis? Securitization in combination with
emotional, touching images creates a dilemma: which threat should be considered. The involvement
of visuals such as the Aylan Kurdi photographs reinforces this dilemma by shifting the threat towards
human security. The photographs of Aylan Kurdi contributed to securitization, but not only in the
traditional approach. In the end, this should result in a more modernized, contemporary
securitization theory.

The relationship between securitization and iconic photographs and the securitization of the migrant
crisis have been addressed before in academic literature. However, no link between securitization,
photography, and the 2015 European migrant crisis has yet been made. Using the case study of the
pictures of Aylan Kurdi and the reactions and actions they provoked, this thesis extends the
Copenhagen School’s securitization framework. For the migrants fleeing from war as a relevant
audience in the securitization theory, the existential threat is in place; securitization is self-evident
for them and not a social construct: it is true. For the public and policy-makers in Western countries
as another audience, securitization of border security is a social construct; if it is believed to be true,
it is true in effect. Hence, the research question can be answered: the drowned boy images
contribute to securitization. However, this depends on whether ‘securitization’ implies human
security or securing the borders of the European Union. Hence, not solely in a traditional
securitization approach but certainly also in the migrants’ security.

Traditional securitization theory needs revision. In view of different audiences, emotions, the power
of images, and the shift from state-centric threats towards human-cultural threats, the traditional
securitization theory must be broadened in order to apply to the contemporary environment.
Regarding the research question, two aspects of the proposed modernization are most significant.
First, modernization of the concept of an existential threat seems paramount. As a part of the
relevant audience in the broadened definition considers migration as a threat, this sets the agenda
and therefore forces politicians to act. This makes the migrant crisis for European citizenry and
leaders a serious—but not existential in the sense of traditional securitization theory—security issue
that must be solved. Second, the definition of state security should incorporate threats to cultural
identity and economic threats. This thesis also demonstrates the complexity of the term
‘securitization’ and the inextricable link with humanitarization. By sending war ships ‘to end the
human tragedy’, the security issue at least partially became a humanitarian one.

35
The role of images is increasingly influencing public opinion and becoming a potentially decisive
factor in political decisions. The speed of distribution and the multiple ways images and photographs
are interpreted by various relevant audiences are not to be underestimated. With the publication of
the Aylan Kurdi pictures, the crisis was given a face and a name. The photo is iconic for the moment,
not least due to its frequent appropriation. It is plausible that the photographs of Aylan Kurdi will be
appropriated anew in the future, perhaps not directly related to the Syrian migrant crisis, but
picturing human suffering due to geopolitical events. Whether in 15 years’ time people will still
remember the drowned boy image and relate this to the 2015 European migrant crisis, or whether
the photo will be reproduced from time to time or even used generically, the icon remains.

The increase in the participation of ordinary citizens helping the migrants after their dangerous boat
journeys is significant and can be explained by the fact that actually witnessing an event is essential
to taking action. This notwithstanding, negotiations among European leaders to end the migrant
crisis had already started before the publication of the photo. However, the process then
accelerated: in March 2016, nearly six months after the publication of the photos, an agreement with
Turkey was in place. The publication of the photos of Aylan Kurdi catalysed the ongoing initiatives
rather than starting them. Hence, it cannot be concluded that the acceleration of the initiatives to
solve the migrant crisis were directly due to the photo; perhaps ‘despite the photo’ is more accurate.
This analysis shows that the influence of images should be incorporated into a modified
securitization theory due to their emotional impact on ordinary citizens, politicians, and the military.
It seems that Europe is still struggling with the dilemma of whose securitization is at stake and who is
at risk.

The appropriation of images influences their political and international impact; therefore, the
separation of the relevant steps in Lene Hansen’s three-tiered model could be reconsidered due to
this merging effect. For the purposes of this thesis, the sequence of steps 2 and 3 is changed. The
number and level of appropriations increases hypothesized impact of an image, which contributes to
answering the questions in step 3 regarding the international and political impact.

36
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