Weaponization of Migration: A Strategic Tool in Hybrid Warfare

April 25, 2025

The concept of “weaponized migration” was systematically defined by political scientist Kelly M. Greenhill in Weapons of Massmigration (2010). She analyzed how states and non-state actors deliberately create or manipulate migration flows to achieve political and strategic goals, using forced displacement as a form of nonlinear conflict to pressure other countries.

In modern democracies, neo-fascists and neo-Nazis forces increasingly use this concept not only in foreign policy, but also as a tool for domestic political mobilization. By exaggerating the threat of migrants, they construct an image of an “internal enemy”, justifying repressive policies, restricting rights, and promoting ethnonationalist, neo-fascist agendas. Framing migration as an existential threat, they help normalize xenophobia and undermine liberal-democratic institutions.

Núllið Gallery
Bankastræti 0, Reykjavík, Iceland

The opening – April 25, 17:00
Performans – April 26, 11:00
The exhibition is open – April 26, 27 – 11:00–21:00