This video is about the project "Governing irregular migration and refugees", co-funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Canada.[ Ссылка ]
Dr. Oliver Schmidtke highlights in this video the growing challenge of governing irregular migrants and refugees, emphasizing the global scale of forced displacement, with 177 million people displaced in 2023 due to war, violence, and environmental degradation. Western democracies, rooted in human rights commitments, face a moral obligation to help these individuals, as seen in frameworks like Germany’s Basic Law and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
However, this humanitarian commitment clashes with political realities, especially in the face of rising right-wing populism and anti-immigrant sentiments. These movements have capitalized on fear of migrants, making it difficult to foster public support for accommodating refugees. Schmidtke emphasizes the complexity of managing this issue, as it requires coordinated action across multiple levels of governance—national, regional, and local. The project seeks to explore solutions for balancing humanitarian obligations with political challenges, seeking expert insights on how to navigate polarized contexts and develop fair, effective policies for addressing the global refugee crisis. Ultimately, Schmidtke calls for innovative approaches that uphold democratic values while recognizing political and resource limitations.EUCAnet (Europe Canada Network) is a hub for experts primarily located in Canada that work on European and Canadian current issues from a transatlantic perspective. These experts offer commentary and expertise and are available for media interviews and public talks. We are a public outreach platform – that makes scholarly knowledge available and meaningful to the public in times when the need for evidence based knowledge and public debate is crucial. Our goal is to foster the Canada Europe Transatlantic Dialogue with the aim of supporting the process of informing public policy making.
Focus on : European Studies, Transatlantic Studies, Global Studies, Issues of Democracy, Populism, Memory Politics, Migration, Irregular Migration, Refugees
Official Site: [ Ссылка ]
