scholarly journals Understanding EU Solidarity and Migration in Crisis: Narratives of Health as Tools of Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-692
Author(s):  
Rachael DICKSON

The so-called European migration crisis has sparked significant attention from scholars and raises questions about the role of solidarity between states and the European Union (EU) in providing policy solutions. Tension exists between upholding the rights of those seeking entry and pooling resources between Member States to provide a fair and efficient migration system. This article deconstructs the shifts that have occurred in EU migration policy since 2015 to highlight how narratives of health have become tools of governance. It does so to illuminate how health narratives operate to minimise the impact that conflicts on the nature and substance of EU solidarity have on policy development in response to the perceived crisis. A governmentality lens is used to analyse the implications of increasingly prescribed policy applications based on screening and categorising, and how measures operate to responsibilise migrants and third-countries to act according to EU values. It is argued this approach to governance results in migrants facing legal uncertainty in terms of accessing their rights and excludes them from the EU political space, which is problematic for how EU governance can be understood.

Author(s):  
Maxim V. Fomenko ◽  
◽  
Anfisa E. Kriuchkova ◽  

The article is devoted to the impact of the epidemiological situation in the countries of the European Union in connection with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on the migration policy of the integration association. Based on the analysis of documents and statistical materials, the author identified the key factors that determine the transformation of European migration policy at the present stage. In addition to that the author put forward the idea of the EU maintaining the course for the implementation of a set of measures taken in this area before the beginning of the pandemic. The article analyzes some of the consequences of the migration crisis of 2015-2016. Some documents adopted in the EU during and after the migration crisis are cited. A critical understanding of the "open door policy" is given. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU countries faced a new challenge. The global lockdown put tens of thousands of migrants in a vulnerable position in EU countries awaiting status. Despite the fact that the primary tasks of accommodating and helping migrants at the beginning of the pandemic were solved, it is worth noting that the European Union did not show proper coordination of actions. For example, a comprehensive approach to the formation of a unified migration policy has not yet been developed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Dragutin Vurnek ◽  
Andrea Bengez ◽  
Matej Perkov

AbstractMigrations as an inevitable fact of socioeconomic trends pose a security challenge for migrant countries, transition countries, and the countries where migrants come as to the ultimate destination. They are realized in a large area with a large number of participants and global consequences. This paper, through the basic determinants of migrations, statistical indicators on migrations, security challenges, risks and threats, migration policy and international security, provides answers to the questions about the numerical movement of migrants from the seventies of the last century to today on a global scale. Responses are also given about the reasons for triggering migrations, the most desirable migrant destinations, and the impact of migrations on security in departure, transit and destination countries. Particular attention is given to the last migration crisis that has largely affected the European Union.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-406
Author(s):  
Judas Everett

This study focuses on the role of Poland and Hungary in the shifting European political landscape, especially considering their recent democratic backsliding. Methodologically, the impact of domestic factors, specifically those involved in democratic backsliding, are qualitatively considered as a source of Poland and Hungarys international policy, focusing on European politics. There is significant literature available on the waves and counter waves of democratic change in the world, which is used to provide context for the cases at hand. Then, the theory of consolidation of democracy is considered, including whether Poland and Hungary were really cases of consolidated democracies. The developing Polish-Hungarian coalition, in the European context, is then considered. The two nations role in driving the EU towards a more restrictive migration policy during the migration crisis is discussed, as is the future EU role of Poland and Hungary. The article finds that whether through extreme pressure, setting the agenda or leading the way, as during the migrant crisis, or forming a new European political grouping, Poland and Hungary look set to actively attempt to mould the EU, and European politics more generally, to their liking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-115
Author(s):  
Mikhail S. Guzhev ◽  
Maria S. Semenova

The importance of studying migration processes is due to their massive, regular nature, the impact on the political and social environment of the host countries. Often, a poorly thought out, inconsistent and generally ineffective immigration policy leads to problems in the host countries, reduces the quality of life of the indigenous population, thus creating a split in society, which may result in increasing migrant phobia, xenophobia, etc. A particularly striking example of this situation can serve as some countries of the European Union, in particular, Germany and France. The populations of these countries account for one of the largest shares of migrants not only in Europe, but throughout the world. Of particular research interest is the change in the political preferences of the voters in favor of the forces advocating a rigid migration policy. Within the framework of the systematic and historical-descriptive approaches, the electoral processes in Germany and France were analyzed during the period of the most intense manifestation of the migration problem. It was found that in parallel with the migration crisis in the host countries, a reshuffling of political forces is rapidly taking place: lesser-known political leaders, parties, movements not only appear on the political arena, but quickly gain voters’ support, starting to determine immigration policy. There is a clear relationship between anti-immigration slogans and the entry into the arena of Germany and France of right-wing parties, which are fundamentally changing the political alignment of forces and their political course as a whole. Supporters of the right-wing political persuasion quickly gained popularity at the peak of the migration crisis, but with this problem fading into the background, the need for these political forces began to decrease. As a result of the study, the hypothesis that the migration problem is one of the key factors in the alignment of political forces in Germany and France was confirmed.


Author(s):  
Peter Slominski

The European Union (EU) migration crisis has been part and parcel of a conglomerate of crises that have affected the EU since the late 2000s, as have the financial and sovereign debt crisis, “Brexit,” the Russia–Ukraine conflict, as well as tensions within transatlantic relations. Scholarship on the EU has devoted much attention in assessing what the migration crisis means for EU integration at large. In particular, EU scholars are interested why the migration crisis has led to political gridlock and a renationalization of border controls rather than a deepening of integration. While they differ in their explanations, these explanations shed light on different aspects of the crisis and are far from mutually exclusive. Scholars who are more interested in the area of EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) largely agree with EU theorists that the field suffers from an incomplete governance design, the dominance of EU member states, and weak supranational capacities. Their analysis also focuses on intra-EU dynamics but offers a more nuanced empirical assessment of relevant EU institutions and decision-making in the course of managing the migration crisis. This growing body of research produces valuable insights and largely confirms existing scholarship, including that on the growing securitization and externalization of EU asylum and migration policy. The EU’s understanding as a norm-based power is particularly challenged by the migratory movements in the wake of the crisis. A small but growing scholarship analyses how the EU is balancing its non-entrée policy with its legal obligation, and what kind of governance arrangements result from that. While this scholarship has enriched our understanding of the EU migration crisis, it has not generated a major refinement of the standard approaches of EU theorists and JHA scholars. To further enrich the literature on the migration crisis, scholars should go beyond studying the dynamics of EU decision-making and the role of EU institutions. Such an approach should engage more systematically with international actors and institutions that have the capacity to influence EU migration policy. At the same time, global phenomena such as war, poverty, or climate change should also be taken into account in assessing the EU’s room for maneuver in handling migratory pressures. Future research on the migration crisis as well as on migration challenges should thus not only connect with other subfields of political science, such as policy analysis or international relations, but also open up to other disciplines such as law, demography, or environmental studies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 239965442096556
Author(s):  
Maurice Stierl

The mass migrations of 2015 were not merely a watershed moment for ‘EUrope’ but also for the scholarly study of migration to EUrope. With academic expertise and insights becoming much sought-after in the media and political discourse, migration scholarship has gained in unknown popularity over recent years. This current ‘migration knowledge hype’ has particularly benefited scholarship that claims to be of relevance for EUropean policymakers in finding responses to ‘migratory pressures’. This article critically interrogates the increasing intimacy between the worlds of migration scholarship and migration policy and seeks to unpack how the quest for policy-relevance has shaped the process of research itself. The impact of policy on migration research can be discerned when policy categories, assumptions, and needs constitute the bases and (conceptual) frames of research that seeks to be legible to policymakers. However, with EUropean migration policies causing devastation and undeniably harmful effects on migrant lives, what is the responsibility of researchers for the knowledge they produce and disseminate? Should the ‘do no harm’ principle prevalent in the migration discipline be expanded to also include the potentially harmful consequences resulting from research made relevant to migration policymakers? This article makes the case for an engaged scholarship that does not shy away from intervening in the contested field of migration with the intention not to fix but to amplify the epistemic and other crises of the EUropean border regime.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 304-311
Author(s):  
Diana Valentina Lupoiu ◽  
Cristi Raceanu

Abstract The phenomenon of globalization has greatly influenced migration in recent years in the European Union. In this article we aim to analyze the benefits of migration in the economy by emphasizing the impact of remittances on the economic development of a country. Remittances are considered as an external source of important, stable funds that help the economic development of a country. We identify also the macroeconomic determinants of remittances. For the statistical and econometric analysis of these factors, we have chosen to use the Panel Data Regression for the countries of the European Union. To analyze the benefits of remittances, the most appropriate macroeconomic indicator is GDP. So in the first part of the article we will present the impact of globalization and migration on remittances, and in the second part we will highlight the economic growth through the presence of remittances. This article examines the role of migrants as a particular segment of the market and as a resource for development. All aspects to be analyzed will outline an overview of population emigration and factors that influence the development of the economy at a time when globalization is on the rise.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-115
Author(s):  
Сергей Пузырев ◽  
Sergey Puzyrev

Since spring 2015, the situation with forced migration in the European Union has become perceived in terms of the crisis, which determined the need to develop a European migration program in 2015 to resolve current, medium-term and long-term tasks in this area. These operational measures determined the need for amendments to the annual budget of the Union for 2015 and laid the foundations for increasing the expenditure budget of the EU in 2016 and 2017. The article presented an analysis of the migration situation and budget management of the European Union from 2015 to 2017. With the objectives of identifying the patterns of development of the EU budget policy in the aspect of the long-term management of the European migration crisis.


Author(s):  
V.B. Belov

The article examines the results of the last Bundestag elections. They marked the end of the Angela Merkel era and reflected the continuation of difficult party-political and socio-economic processes in the informal leader of the European Union. The main attention of the research focuses on the peculiarities of the election campaign of the leading parties and of the search for ways of further development of Germany in the face of urgent economic and political challenges. These challenges include the impact of the coronavirus crisis, the impact of the energy and digital transition to a climate-neutral economy, and the complex international situation. Based on original sources, the author analyzes the causes of the SPD victory and the CDU/CSU bloc defeat, the results of the negotiations of the Social Democrats with the Greens and Liberals, the content of the coalition agreement from the point of view of the prospects for the development of domestic and foreign policy and the economy of Russia's main partner in the west of the Eurasian continent. The conclusion is made about the absence of breakthrough ideas, the consistent continuation of the course started by the previous government for a carbon-free economy and the strengthening of the role of Germany in Europe and the world. For this course, conflicts and problems in achieving the set goals will be immanent due to the compromising nature of the coalition agreements.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002071522110506
Author(s):  
David De Coninck ◽  
Giacomo Solano ◽  
Willem Joris ◽  
Bart Meuleman ◽  
Leen d’Haenens

The link between integration policies and intergroup attitudes or threat perceptions has received considerable attention. However, no studies so far have been able to explore how this relationship changed following the European migration crisis due to a lack of recent comparative policy data. Using new MIPEX data, this is the first study to examine mechanisms underlying the policy-threat nexus following the European migration crisis, distinguishing between several strands of integration policies, and realistic and symbolic threat. To do so, we combine 2017 Eurobarometer data with 2017 Migrant Integration Policy data, resulting in a sample of 28,080 respondents nested in 28 countries. The analyses also control for economic conditions, outgroup size, and media freedom. Multilevel analyses indicate that respondents living in countries with more inclusive integration policies in general report lower realistic and symbolic threat. When investigating different policy strands, we find that inclusive policies regarding political participation and access to nationality for immigrants are associated with lower realistic and symbolic threat. We compare our findings to those from prior to the European migration crisis and discuss the potential role of this crisis in the policy-threat nexus.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document