European Immigration Issue – PLSC 359: Global Governance

With the current influx of refugees from Middle Eastern nations such as Iraq and Syria, European nations face issues of ethics and state security. The ethical dilemma that arises is posed due to the inherent cause of the current immigration crisis. The Islamic State poses a constant threat to the liberties and securities of citizens of besieged countries. The only mode of survival is travel into countries like Greece and Italy. However, with the rising rates of immigrants parallel with xenophobic tensions, Europeans have not been able to provide the solace that these individuals require. These tensions arise in part due to notions of loss of sovereignty, but are also rooted in fear.
The radical actions of IS, in Paris, cause Europeans to question the legitimacy of these migrants. The issue that is posed by such an attack, is one that deals with resources for oversight on the influx of immigrants. The solution to such a problem, would be through unity in European nations, and an amalgamation of resources, to provide checks on immigrants. Certain countries like Germany have been accepting of refugees, and should therefore be at the forefront for legislation of oversight. Furthermore, unity in the European Union would assist untangling the current crisis. The current crisis in Europe should not be thought of as an issue of only a single nation, but rather a threat to Europe as a whole. Political deliberations regarding resources and funding, must take a back seat, if the protection of liberties and securities are at the forefront.

Karen Yamasaki says:

April 30, 2016 at 9:33 am

This post reminds me of the discussion I had in an IR class I was in last semester. The topic was whether the European countries should provide visas to the refugees. I argued for this idea, but there were many people who were against it. Their argument was that if the refugees were officially entitled to live in the country, there would be a lot of criticisms from the population who are worried about their job which can be taken over by the refugee population. However, if the European countries do not do anything about the current situation, things will get even worse. Like you said, this is not a problem of only one country, but is a problem which the world should be concerned about.