A Europe of Local Governments and State Failure: Rehabilitating the Narrative of the 2015 Refugee Crisis

M.G.N. Baumgärtel

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperOther research output

    Abstract

    The widely shared representation of 2015 as the year of the refugee crisis has been received critically by migration scholars. This paper calls for a change in perspective, making an effort to reclaim the crisis metaphor to describe the moment when the chronic failure of state structures to govern questions of immigration became an acute political problem. 2015 is hereby re-conceptualized as the critical interception point of two long-term trends: firstly, the effective ‘legal disintegration’ of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and secondly, the ever-important role of local authorities particularly in the area of integration, as central governments have been devolving their powers. The absence of a comprehensive approach to these trends eventually gave rise to total uncertainty about what level of governance the ongoing events can, will and ought to be tackled. Against this background, the paper re-evaluates the impact of crisis responses, and more specifically the hotspot approach taken since 2015, as well as the theoretical role of European states, theorizing their disruptive influence as an instance of sectoral state failure.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication statusUnpublished - 2018
    Event25th International Conference of Europeanists: Europe and the World: Mobilities, Values and Citizenship - Chicago, United States
    Duration: 28 Mar 201831 Mar 2018

    Conference

    Conference25th International Conference of Europeanists
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityChicago
    Period28/03/1831/03/18

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A Europe of Local Governments and State Failure: Rehabilitating the Narrative of the 2015 Refugee Crisis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this