Europe and the Global South: Migration, Development and Beyond
Full course description
This course will introduce you to academic debates around and critiques of Europe’s relations with the Global South, with a focus on international migration. A key aspect of development is international migration. Migration has contributed to economic development in Europe.For centuries, Europe’s position as early industrialiser and dominant colonial power placed it at the forefront of heated debates on the nature and universality of economic growth and modernisation. In the era after World War II and decolonisation – a period often referred to as the “Age of Development” – Europe continued to play a role model position in discussions on developmental issues such as global inequality, foreign aid, trade liberalisation, and democracy promotion. Voices critical of European and Northern mode of development, and engagement with the developing world have grown louder in recent years.
Hundreds of millions people now live outside their country of origin. Not only do migrant flee political instability, violence and war, and natural disasters (due to climate change) but migration is also driven by the globalisation of markets and economic cycles in destination countries. Migrant populations are therefore mixed, comprised of economic labour migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, among other categories. Migration trajectories are similarly far from linear, entailing circular movement at times, transitory as well as (prolonged) stays in not only destination but also transit countries. Yet, the response from EU governments and policymakers to the topic of international migration has failed to acknowledge these realities. Disinformation about migrants permeates the discourse of the EU media and politicians, fueling misconceptions, xenophobia and discrimination towarads migrants among EU citizens.
The aims of the course are: (i) to understand the determinants and consequences of international migration and its relation to development, and (ii) to critically assess the proposed and actual policies to deal with migration in Europe, (iii) to analyse the consequences that EU migration policies have for EU relationships with Global South countries, (iv) to identify what lessons Europe can learn from the way other countries in the Global South are dealing with migration and its management.
Course objectives
The focus of the course Europe and the Global South is on international migration – how the EU struggles to formulate coherent responses beyond its borders. The aim is to situate this policy realm as case study within a broader examination of Europe’s historical and contemporary engagement with that part of the world often referred to as the ‘Global South’. Students taking this course will develop a solid foundation of knowledge on how international migration stems from political and economic development processes, will be able identify how international migrants influence development not only in Europe but also in migrants’ homelands, and will be capable of critically assess and propose new avenues in EU migration policymaking.
Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
- Identify migration as a core aspect of development in Europe and beyond.
- Examine how migration shapes the economics and the politics of host and home societies.
- Discern what migration policies are, recognise and classify the different actors and interests involved in migration policy-making, and evaluate the effectiveness of migration policies in the EU.
- Understand core policy-making dilemmas related to migration in Europe, how they affect relations between Europe and the rest of the world,.
- Appraise and assess mainstream positions in the scholarship and the public debate on migration , including their implicit assumptions, in the EU.
- Discern what perspectives are missing from the contemporary discourse surrounding migration in the EU
- Critically reflect on current migration policies in the EU, and devise new (future) options for migration policy based on the experience of countries in other regions
Recommended reading
- Juan Santos Vara, Sergio Carrera, Sergio Carrera, Tineke Strik (2019), Constitutionalising the external dimensions of EU migration policies in times of crisis : legality, rule of law and fundamental rights reconsidered. United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
- Nikos Xypolytas, Petra Danková, Robel Afeworki Abay, Tanja Kleibl (2024),Transnational Mobility and Externalization of EU Borders: Social Work, Migration Management, and Resistance. United States: Lexington Books.
- Carlos Sandoval-García, Eda Sevinin, Elena Habersky, Gerda Heck (2024), Making Routes: Mobility and Politics of Migration in the Global South. Egypt: American University in Cairo Press.