Crisis Governance and the Migration Debate in Modern Europe.

Catalog description

What is the modern European approach to intensified immigration? Who are migrants, and how (and why) are they distinguished from refugees? What defines a 'migration crisis' and what are the roots of such events, occurring in Europe at least since the 1990s until today? Finally, how do the EU Member States respond to them? This course engages with these complex issues, providing a broad introduction to understanding past trends of migration to Europe, management, and future. Over the span of ten weeks, students will be introduced to various key events related to migration, such as the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Arab Spring and the following 2015 'migration crisis,' as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the course, students will analyse the issues of "Othering," bordering and inclusion, trying to understand perspectives of different players involved in migration management, such as the EU, its Member States, NGOs and civil society representatives, including voices of migrants and refugees themselves. Guided by the literature from an interdisciplinary "toolkit" of academic fields of studies (Sociology, International Relations, Political Science, Migration Studies), the course reflects on human rights, (neo)coloniality, critical race and border studies as well as integration policies in the context of migration. The course will be delivered over a 10-week period, with each week consisting of a 1,5-hour lecture and a 1,5-hour participatory seminar. It will involve guest speakers (academics, activists, civil society representatives) and mock negotiations to discuss a response to a 'migration crisis' scenario.