European Union

(Dual National) Politicians – between “Pure-Bloods” and “Half-Bloods”

14.11.2017 , in ((Dual Citizenship of Politicians, Politics)) , ((No Comments))

Last week, Ignazio Cassis became one of the Swiss federal councilors – after having surrendered his Italian passport in the weeks before the election. Simultaneously, in Australia several parliamentarians had to relinquish their seat, because it turned out that they had dual citizenship. Thinking about dual citizenship of elected politicians, four points are to be considered: “awareness” and the “possibility to renounce” where a prohibition for dual citizens to run for office is in force, as well as “loyalty” and “representation”, the basic arguments used when creating such prohibitions. ...

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The “Migration Crisis” in Europe: An Interpretation

22.06.2017 , in ((Politics)) , ((No Comments))

Since 2015, the term “migration crisis” has appeared in the media almost on a daily basis. Why now and not back in the 1990’s when comparable numbers of asylum requests were lodged in Europe? Many parameters are indeed very different today than in past episodes of refugee arrivals. In 2015, refugees moved in large numbers over large distances, from the South to the North, and they had to risk their lives to do so. The lack of political coherence in Europe when coping with these arrivals nearly led to a breakdown of the entire EU. However, it is not only a “crisis” of politics, but also of numbers, distance and rights. What are its fundamentals? ...

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Retour sur la notion de passeur

16.06.2017 , in ((Politics)) , ((No Comments))

La notion de passeur est aujourd’hui négativement connotée: elle renvoie généralement à l’image d’êtres malveillants qui profitent de personnes vulnérables pour s’enrichir à leurs dépens. Il est nécessaire de revenir sur les significations de ce terme dans le contexte actuel afin de déconstruire les idées reçues qui lui sont associées. ...

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Beyond Relocation: The Contested Role of NGOs

23.05.2017 , in ((Politics)) , ((No Comments))

The EU relocation mechanism for Italy and Greece promised to be the first fully-fledged experiment of “non-just-financial” solidarity among EU Member States in the field of asylum. After more than a year of implementation, its shortcomings appear as clear as the sun in the summer sky. However, it holds some merits, primarily to have shown the advantages of a better integration of NGOs in the governance of asylum redistributive schemes. The same NGOs are now under attack. Why? ...

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