Caught Between Shores: The Criminalization of Movement and Solidarity within the Aegean Sea

My thesis examines how the Aegean Sea has become a central location in the EU's shift towards the criminalization of movement and the solidarity of movement. Through an analysis of EU asylum law, international law, Greek border practices, and the repression of humanitarian actors, this thesis argues that these dynamics are not isolated abuses but parts of a coherent deterrence-based border system. Drawing on legal frameworks, NGO reports, and testimonies, the thesis shows how restrictive policies push asylum seekers into dangerous routes, how pushbacks and maritime practices produce risk rather than mitigate it, and how new legislation targets those who provide humanitarian assistance and document rights violations. By situating these notions within broader geopolitical and institutional pressures, the thesis shows that violence in the Aegean Sea is structural, intentional, and increasingly put into law. Ultimately, it highlights how Europe's approach to migration governance relies on practices that undermine protection, suppress civil society, and reshape the meaning of humanitarianism at the EU's external borders.