scholarly journals The role of the EU in integrating asylum-seekers and refugees: limitations and opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-129
Author(s):  
Klára Fóti
Author(s):  
Fatih Resul Kılınç ◽  
Şule Toktaş

This article addresses the international movement of asylum seekers and refugees, particularly Syrian immigrants, and their impact on populism in Turkish politics between 2011 and 2018. The article argues that populist politics/rhetoric directed against Syrians in Turkey remained limited during this period, especially from a comparative perspective. At a time when rising Islamophobia, extreme nationalism, and anti-immigrant sentiments led to rise of right-wing populism in Europe, populist platforms exploiting specifically migrants, asylum seekers, and the Syrians in Turkey failed to achieve a similar effect. The chapter identifies two reasons for this puzzling development even as the outbreak of the Syrian civil war triggered a mass influx of asylum seekers and irregular immigrants into Turkey. First, the article focuses on Turkey’s refugee deal with the EU in response to “Europe’s refugee crisis,” through which Turkey has extracted political and economic leverage. Next, the article sheds light on Turkey’s foreign policy making instruments that evolved around using the refugee situation as an instrument of soft power pursuant to its foreign policy identity. The article concludes with a discussion of the rise of anti-Syrian sentiments by 2019.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike M. Vieten ◽  
Fiona Murphy

This article explores the ways a salient sectarian community division in Northern Ireland frames the imagination of newcomers and the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. We examine the dominant ethno-national Christian communities and how their actions define the social-spatial landscape and challenges of manoeuvring everyday life in Northern Ireland as an ‘Other’. We argue all newcomers are impacted to some degree by sectarianism in Northern Ireland, adding a further complexified layer to the everyday and institutional racism so prevalent in different parts of the UK and elsewhere. First, we discuss the triangle of nation, gender and ethnicity in the context of Northern Ireland. We do so in order to problematise that in a society where two adversarial communities exist the ‘Other’ is positioned differently to other more cohesive national societies. This complication impacts how the Other is imagined as the persistence of binary communities shapes the way local civil society engages vulnerable newcomers, e.g. in the instance of our research, asylum seekers and refugees. This is followed by an examination of the situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. We do so by contextualising the historical situation of newcomers and the socio-spatial landscape of the city of Belfast. In tandem with this, we discuss the role of NGO’s and civil support organisations in Belfast and contrast these views with the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. This article is based on original empirical material from a study conducted in 2016 on the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees with living in Northern Ireland.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Benjamin Boudou ◽  
Hans Leaman ◽  
Maximilian Miguel Scholz

This special section explores the role of religious ideas and religious associations in shaping the response of states and non-state actors to asylum-seekers and refugees. It brings together insights from anthropology, law, history, and political theory to enrich our understanding of how religious values and resources are mobilized to respond to refugees and to circumvent usual narratives of secularization. Examining these questions within multicultural African, European, and North American contexts, the special section argues that religion provides moral reasons and structural support to welcome and resettle refugees, and constitutes a framework of analysis to better understand the social, legal, and political dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in contexts of migration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Sibusisiwe Bulala Kelly

In early March 2020 the health crisis warnings of corona virus also known as Covid 19 emerged in the European Union (EU). It dominated political dialogues prompting a sense of urgency, fear, and disruption among people. Suddenly there was a halt to the continuous controversial discussions on migration, asylum seekers and refugee challenges across the EU Member States and beyond. The message from the health experts and governments among the EU Member States was clear. Stay home, wash your hands constantly, maintain physical distance, and keep the children away from vulnerable grandparents. However, these seemingly extreme health guidelines engendered great anxiety for the disadvantaged people living in crowded refugee camps across the EU and beyond. It became very clear that the requirement of physical distancing has become a privilege only available for the populations that have the capacity.Research shows that overcrowding and lack of sanitation in refugee camps continue to be problematic across the EU Member States. Somehow, it seemed unfair for the Member States governments to emphasise on the importance of constant wash of hands and social distance among its citizens, whilst ignoring the horrific living conditions of those displaced and stranded in the internal and external borders of the EU. Additionally, there are claims that Covid 19 has not fully manifested in the EU refugee camps, however with lack of information on corona virus testing in the camps it is difficult to legitimately evaluate the situation. This brief assesses the EU Covid 19 response in relation to the area of Asylum. Also serves as a reminder for the EU policy makers not to forget the migration discourse during coronavirus crisis. Particularly, for the asylum seekers and refugees as their presence will continue to impact major dimensions of the EU communities such as political, economy, and social, well beyond Covid 19.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sebastian Paul

In recent years, migration studies focused very much on forced displacement, especially after the influx of migrants to Europe in 2015. Some European countries accept immigrants from non-EU regions. Others blame migrants for taking advantage of Europe’s social systems and follow restrictive policy measures. The EU is as divided as never before in its history, and the process of migration to Europe has become more critical. In this context, the characteristics, fleeing reasons, and refugees’ and asylum seekers’ journeys are relevant. This dissertation looks at these factors in the framework of refugee camps. Even though refugee camps are frequently an essential part of the journey of asylum seekers and refugees on their way to Europe, there is only limited literature in this field. Thus, the research aims to analyze migration and refugee movements as a consequence of the miserable and inhumane conditions in refugee camps and identifies indicators for (mass) migration to Europe. For this purpose, and since everyone speaks about migrants, but not with migrants, I conducted quantitative and qualitative research in 192 fully-structured and 17 semi-structured interviews. The research provides a comprehensive comparison of the living conditions in non-EU and EU refugee camps, analyses their role in the process of migration to Europe, and emphasizes the differences between different camps. Furthermore, the characteristics of asylum seekers and refugees and their motives for coming to Europe were examined. The findings of the study show who these people are and from where they originate. There is evidence for the hypothesis that the majority of people flee because of severe danger (e.g., armed conflicts) and are not ‘economic migrants’ despite the claims of nationalistic governments in the EU. However, there is evidence for the hypothesis that improved living conditions in camps could reduce mass migration movements to Europe. The dissertation enhances the discussion of refugee camps in migration studies, provides new perspectives and insights about the journey of asylum seekers and refugees to Europe, and people’s characteristics leaving their country of origin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Johanna K Schenner ◽  
Anders Neergaard

This special issue seeks to investigate and understand the various experiences of asylum-seekers, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and refugees in accessing labour markets across the EU and EEA countries. The first section of this introduction provides an overview of the three groups of people who are the focus of this special issue and their relationship to the labour markets in the EU Member States and EEA countries. The second section provides insights into how the essential features of their labour market integration may be understood by using Levitas’ discourse analysis. The third section explores a range of different labour market access dimensions by focusing not only on the human capital aspects of migration in general but also on the contextual factors of civic stratification; the broader societal context, including public opinion and civil society; the background and situation of earlier migrants, especially asylum-seekers and refugees with respect to national/federal laws; and the countries of origin of migrants as well as demographic trends across the EU. The fourth and final section explains and justifies the focus of this special issue and emphasises the relevance of this topic.


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