Bounded Rationality in European Policymaking Processes: The Development of European Legislation to Address Future Responses to the Instrumentalization of Migration

With the recent adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the European Union concluded its negotiations on reforming its migration management and common asylum system. One of the core files is the Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation, which contains elements that are meant to regulate the response to future instances of the instrumentalization of migration against the European Union. These elements find their origin in the Instrumentalization Regulation proposal from December 2021. This proposal was developed in response to the attempt by Belarus to put the European Union under pressure by directing migratory movements towards the European Union’s external borders. This research investigates the role played by Simon’s (1990) concept of bounded rationality on the policy process of the Instrumentalization Regulation proposal and parts of the Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation. Based on semi-structured interviews with think tank researchers, (representatives of) Members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union, the research found that bounded rationality has played a role in policy actors’ awareness of the instrumentalization of migration as well as during the agenda-setting and policy formulation phases of the policy process.