Europe has been experiencing a massive spike in immigration. At the height of the recent migratory wave in 2015, some 1.9 million people sought shelter and new opportunities in Europe. The viewpoints are split in many European societies. There have been both pro-refugee and nationalist reactions, also within ‘traditional’ immigration countries like Germany or France. Public debate on the immigration issue has been quite remarkable. With some political parties using a rhetoric previously unheard of in the 21. Century. In view of the heightened terror threat, the predominantly Muslim immigrants are viewed with increased scepticism among no small number of the population.
The closure of the Western Balkan Route and the (fragile) immigration deal with Turkey has brought total immigration numbers down. However, immigration is still high. Moreover, many migration streams have simply been diverted back to the Mediterranean route, where an rising number of people attempt the risky travel by boat. Hundreds of people die almost on a monthly basis during these crossings. While NGOs and the EU are trying to save capsized refugees, there is also an increasingly popular argument to abandon such rescue missions. Some fear that this might prompt smugglers to push even more people out to sea. Equally, there is a fear the ‘reassurance’ of maritime rescue teams might create wrong incentives for the migrants.
The migration crisis is highly complex. Simplistic policies such as “keeping everyone out” or “letting everyone in” are essentially useless. They do not offer any tenable solution. Navigating through this situation with the right kind of polices is very difficult. Particularly, because questions on morality, human rights and international law play a very important role. This blog wants to analyze some of the events that have led to the recent migration crisis and share thoughts on possible policy approaches.
What is leading to increased immigration? What are the triggers?
According to the UN, almost three-quarters of recent refugees came from countries in the Middle East and Muslim Africa. The rest hailed from various parts of Northern, Western and Central Africa as well as Western and South-East Asia. To a high degree, the European migration crisis is part of a larger global migration crisis that started unfolding in the late 2000s. The main drivers here are war and political destabilization, economic despair and climate-induced migration.
THE TORCHLIGHT 
Super geschrieben, das letzte Drittel fand ich wie immer am interessantesten und am spannendsten. Es wäre eine Überlegung wert ob man das nicht schon früher im Text platzieren könnte oder die Hinführung mit den bekannten Fakten kürzen könnte, denn wer weiss ob so viele beim Lesen bis zum Schluss durchhalten. Oder man zeigt die zu beantwortenden Fragen mit Link schon am Anfang des Textes und wenn man will wird man automatisch dahin geleitet.
Und bei der humanitären Aktion der Schweiz musste ich etwas schmunzeln, woher hast du immer diese Fakten? Und dann auch noch die Preußen J Spannend ist auch, dass gerade in den letzten Wochen das Image der Schweiz in deutschen Medien wieder bröckelt, weil viel berichtet wird über die Abweisung von Juden an der schweizerischen Grenze. Gab es da eine Forschungsarbeit bei euch in CH die vor kurzem veröffentlicht wurde?
Liebe Grüße aus HH
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