Migration in the Mediterranean region: A response to crises and an emergency in its own right

Migration is an obvious response to political, economic, socio-demographic, and ecological crises. In recent decades, several crises have occurred in the Mediterranean region; consequently, migration has intensified, the geography of flows has been altered, and the roles of some countries within the Mediterranean migration system have rapidly changed. This paper aims to delineate an overview of migration flows in this region over the last 20 years, focusing on the new migration flows related to humanitarian crises. In doing so, the present study also examines similarities and differences between past and current migration factors that shape the decisions of individuals. Migration flows are closely linked to the needs and fears of European societies. Following this logic, and by analysing challenges related to demographic and geopolitical dimensions in the future scenario, this study discusses the necessity of new policy responses.

“In the Key of Loss”

This article addresses a particular example of the intersection of literature and cinema in the film Call Me By Your Name, made by Luca Guadagnino and based on the novel of the same title by André Aciman, and the themes of nostalgia and loss in the work of both. The film results from the encounter, in its production and in a large number of retrospective discussions, between the cosmopolitan writer André Aciman and the Italian director Luca Guadagnino who, while attentive to global issues such as the trans-Mediterranean migration which features in the film, is very much grounded in his home region of northern Italy. The (rather differently figured) Jewish and homosexual identities of the two protagonists in the novel and the film are also addressed.

Outsourcing Hotspot Governance within the EU: Cultural Mediators as Humanitarian–Border Workers in Greece

Responding to the self-declared “Mediterranean migration crisis” in 2015, the European Commission launched a Hotspot Approach to speed up the handling of incoming migrants in the “frontline states” of Greece and Italy. A key element in this operation is the identification of those eligible for asylum, which requires effective communication across cultural and linguistic difference between the asylum system and the migrants, facilitated by officially designated “cultural mediators.” We assess the hotspot governance as a form of outsourcing border control within the EU territory. Beyond sorting out and separating migrants into the categories of deservingness and undeservingness, we propose that the hotspot mechanism represents “governing by communication,” with cultural mediators as key players in this humanitarian–bordering strategy. A focus on how cultural mediators provide the precarious human labor for this governance, offers, we argue, a productive inroad into the ways in which the hotspot economies of deterrence, containment, and care sustain inequalities embedded in race, socioeconomic status, and citizenship.

Mediterranean migration is set to rise

Migration through the Mediterranean was much reduced in 2018-20 but is now picking up again

TACLING IRREGULAR MIGRATION IN EUROPE

Povzetek Nezakonite migracije predstavljajo varnostno tveganje za Evropsko unijo, a se s tveganji zunaj Evrope ne moremo učinkovito spopasti brez izgradnje zmogljivosti na mednarodni ravni. Zaradi tega lahko to področje umestimo v okvir SZVP. To stališče so potrdili tudi val nezakonitih priseljencev, ki je Evropo dosegel leta 2015, ter tveganja in posledice nepripravljenosti držav na ravni zagotavljanja nacionalne varnosti. V študiji predstavljamo tri glavne poti nezakonitih migracij, ki so prizadele Evropo. Predstavljene so tudi države, ki so jih priseljenci prečkali ter ukrepi organov EU. V zaključku članka so predlagane morebitne rešitve za nastalo stanje. Ključne besede nezakonite migracije, varnostno tveganje, vzhodnosredozemska pot migracij, osrednjesredozemska pot migracij, zahodnosredozemska pot migracij. Abstract Irregular migration is a security risk for the EU. This risk from outside Europe cannot be dealt with effectively without capacity building at foreign interfaces, so it could be assessed as an area of the former CFSP. This position was supported by the influx of irregular migrants that reached Europe in 2015, and the risks and consequences of unpreparedness for national security. This study presents the three main routes for irregular migrants which affect Europe, the countries they pass through, and the actions of EU bodies. In addition to the discussion, later in the article potential solutions to the issue will be formulated. Key words irregular migration, security risk, Eastern Mediterranean migration route, Central Mediterranean migration route, Western Mediterranean migration route.