Zaiotti, R. (2014) “Europe is suffering from a psychological blind spot over migration in the Mediterranean“, LSE EUROPP, 10 Οκτωβρίου.
The death of migrants in the Mediterranean remains a significant problem for EU migration policy. Ruben Zaiotti argues that Europe’s approach to the issue can effectively be termed a type of ‘externalisation’, in which the responsibility for migration has been off loaded to origin and transit countries. He writes that the best explanation for why Europe has adopted this model may be a psychological one, related to the internal dynamics within EU states.
News outlets around the world are plastered with images of Southern European countries’ coastguard vessels intercepting rickety dinghies trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. This practice is one of the most notable instances of what Aristide Zolberg calls ‘remote control’, or the array of policies and practices aimed at managing migratory flows before they reach a country’s territory.
The externalisation of migration management is not a new phenomenon, and not unique to Europe. The United States, after all, ‘invented’ the concept of interdiction in the high seas as a way to stem the flow of Haitians, Cubans and other undesired migrants heading North. Yet there is something new about recent developments, both in terms of breadth and scope. More problematically, these policies remain highly controversial, raising various ethical and legal issues for the governments introducing them.
This state of affairs raises the question of why these policies are so popular. The typical answer offered – the one favoured by politicians – is that they are a highly efficient way of addressing the challenge of unwanted migration. If migrants cannot be managed after they reach their destination, why not contain them before they get there? These policies also have the great advantage of taking place outside the legal boundaries constraining liberal democracies, thus relieving receiving countries from potential liabilities. They also allow for the burden to shift to countries of origin and transit, which are invested with the responsibility (with only limited financial and logistical support) of dealing with unwanted migrants.
Σχετικές αναρτήσεις:
- Razin, A. & Sadka, E. (2014) “Migration states and welfare states: Why is America different from Europe?“, VoxEU Organisation, 01 Σεπτεμβρίου.
- Jaroszewicz, Μ. (2014) “Can we expect a rise in migration from Eastern Europe?“, EU Observer, 15 Ιουλίου.
- Jauer, J., Liebig, T., Martin, J. and Puhani, P., (2014) “Migration as an Adjustment Mechanism in the Crisis? A Comparison of Europe and the United States“, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 155, OECD Publishing.