In June 2023 City University of London awarded two prizes for the Rosemary Hollis Essay Competition, an annual award made in the name of our inspiring late colleague Prof.Hollis, who was an expert of Middle East policy and intercultural relations across the EuroMed region.
Below we are proud to publish the essay by Nadim Khan, who is completing his MA in International Politics and is the winner of the MA student category.
Next generations : be inspired by Nadim’s essay and by Rosemary’s profile!
Disparities between the Responses by the UK and EU to Refugees fleeing Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East in the 21st century
by Nadim Khan
This essay explores the racial and socio-economic factors that influenced the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union’s (EU) contrasting responses to refugee flows from Ukraine and the Middle East. It is inspired by the critique of Western foreign policy by the late Professor Rosemary Hollis. I conclude by stating that the UK and the EU are prone to neglecting their duties to protect certain groups due to prejudices but have proven that they can respond effectively to refugee crises.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the assumption that war and human rights abuses are confined to people from poorer countries in the Global South. Nevertheless, occurrences in those geographies continue to be perceived as part of a norm and are overlooked due to their additional economic and environmental concerns, alongside legacies of colonialism (Banica, et al, 2022, p. 4; Morrice, 2022, pp. 251-252). Favourable political will provided Ukrainians with free movement across EU borders and the immediate rights to temporary protection, work, and education as those available to local nationals. Similarly, the UK launched the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and Ukraine Family Scheme. Whilst longer term commitments for complete integration remain a challenge, the scale of the schemes to support Ukrainians was far greater than most existing Western resettlements programmes and the combined UK response to the refugee crises in Syria and Afghanistan. For example, many refugees from Asia continue to be isolated in camps in Southern Europe and more than 12,000 Afghans remained in hotels for half a year in the UK awaiting resettlement (Morrice, 2022, pp. 251-254; Spiegel, 2022, p. 2084). Furthermore, when considering Western reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine from condemnations to varying levels of interventions, they stand in stark contrast with the apathy following the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States and the UK or even Russia’s actions in Syria (Callinicos, 2009, p. 223-226; Fawn and Hinnebusch, 2006, pp. 327-329; Goalwin, 2018, pp. 133-134; Mason and Suchkov, 2021, pp. 147-148; Murray, et al., 2008, pp. 23-24).
The unprecedented empathy with Ukrainian refugees is arguably due to their geographical, cultural, religious, and racial proximity with Europe, alongside conformity to the archetypal refugee in the Western imagination (Geeta and Nair, 2002, pp. 15-18). In comparison, the proximity of Muslim majority populations to Christian Europe is seen as provocative due to popular Orientalist anti-Arab and anti-Islamic prejudices (Said, 1978, pp. 27, 74-75). External fault lines have divided regions based on ideas of homogenous internal populations with migration allegedly leading to a ‘clash of civilisations’ (Huntington, 1993, P. 64). Historical roots of this division include the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey which enforced civilisational boundaries between a Christian Europe and a Muslim Middle East. A 2016 agreement between Turkish and European leaders to blockade the movement of refugees mirrored this and reaffirmed European identity (Goalwin, 2018, pp. 133-134). Refugees were thus used to define a national essence via negation and implicitly construct what dominant ethnicities are not (Rountree and Tilli, 2019, pp. 313-316). Racial hierarchies hold ideological significance and are influenced by the popular media which features racialised understandings of ethnic minority citizens, indigenous people, and non-white immigrants (Geeta and Nair, 2002, pp. 15-18). This explains why the mass-movement of almost 2.5 million people from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan between 2015 and 2016 was labelled as the ‘European refugee crisis,’ whilst no such label was applied to the 5 million people who fled Ukraine within just two months of the Russian invasion (Morrice, 2022, p. 254; Spiegel, 2022, p. 2084). Although the overall response of the EU to the 2015-2016 refugee waves was more substantial and comprehensive than commonly perceived, the organisation and its community members were deeply divided over issues including a sharing of responsibility which did not materialise. Several political and social anxieties contributed to this failure of responsibilities under international law including those linked with security, national identity, and the economy (Niemann and Blöser, 2021, pp. 100-101).
The dismantling of the EU’s internal borders necessitated regulation to reinforce its external borders. This was achieved through the construction of more than 1800km of walls, the strengthening of the border and coast guard agencies, and violent pushbacks. Responsibilities under international law were externalised with the EU negotiating a blockade against refugee flows with Turkey, and the UK seeking an agreement with Rwanda to offshore asylum commitments (Bresselau von Bressensdorf, 2022, p. 33; Goalwin, 2018, pp. 133-134; Morrice, 2022, pp. 251-252). This provided a short-term solution to decrease migration flows at a low financial cost rather than considering the political instability which created them. Attempts to justify anti-migrant crackdowns by associating them with combatting human trafficking lacked credibility due to the insufficient legal provisions for asylum seekers, with only a small proportion being offered resettlement (Mason, 2021, p. 257; Niemann and Blöser, 2021, pp. 100-101). Instead, a siege mentality was constructed to justify the extra-legal security measures by depicting non-white refugees as an invading horde and utilising post-9/11 Islamophobic symbolism (Pope, 2017, pp. 66-67). The populist fear of refugees showcased the fragility of European nation-building projects, with national leaders accusing each other of using immigration as an electoral strategy. Rhetoric blaming migrants for the destruction of the economy and social anarchy was similar across the EU despite differences in the actual number present in each country, the economic conditions, and the crime rates. Nevertheless, economic factors resulted in contrasting attitudes towards refugees with Germany being more welcoming due to its strong economy and need for workers, in contrast to a more hostile Hungary focused on perceived security threats (Pavlovich, 2018, p. 269; Rountree and Tilli, 2019, pp. 313-316; Triz, 2020, pp. 46-47).
In conclusion, whilst the UK and the EU failed to effectively respond to refugee flows from the Middle East due to underlying prejudices rather than humanitarian values, their support for the archetypal Ukrainian refugee demonstrated what they could potentially achieve in the future if they treated all refugees equally and with dignity.
Bibliography
Banica, D. C. N., Béla, B., Betka, M. M., Bordeniuc, A., Cheuk, C. P., Czárth, C. Z., Jain, N., Jain, S., Krygowska, A. M., Lolita, J., Panag, D. S, Patel, S., Phiri, M., Platos, E., Prasad, S., Reinis, A., Savchenko, E., Shirinskaya, A. V., Świąte, D., Tanasov, A., (2022). European Countries Step-up Humanitarian and Medical Assistance to Ukraine as the Conflict Continues. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13, pp. 1-5.
Bresselau von Bressensdorf, A., (2022). Refugees as a ‘World Order’ Concern: (Western) Europe and the Middle East since the 1980s. Journal of Modern European History, 20(1), p. 33.
Fawn, R., Hinnebusch, R., (eds.) (2006). The Iraq War, Causes and Consequences. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., pp. 327-329.
Geeta, C., and Nair, S., (Eds.). (2002). Power, Postcolonialism and International Relations: Reading Race, Gender, and Class. London: Routledge, pp. 15-18.
Goalwin, G. J., (2018). Population exchange and the politics of ethno-religious fear: the EU–Turkey agreement on Syrian refugees in historical perspective. Patterns of Prejudice, 52(2-3), pp. 133-134, DOI: 10.1080/0031322X.2018.1433011
Huntington, S. P., (1993). The Clash of Civilisations. In: Mingst, K. A., Snyder, J. L., and McKibben, H. E. (Eds.). Essential Readings in World Politics (7th Ed). New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., p. 64.
Mason, R., (ed.), (2021). Transnational Security Cooperation in the Mediterranean. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 257.
Mason, R., and Suchkov, M. A., (2021). Russia in Syria and the Middle East: Tactics Disguised as a Strategy? In: Mason, R., (Ed.), (2021). Transnational Security Cooperation in the Mediterranean. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 147-148.
Morrice, L., (2022). Will the War in Ukraine be a Pivotal Moment for Refugee Education in Europe? International Journal of Lifelong Education, 41(3), pp. 251-256, DOI: 10.1080/02601370.2022.2079260
Murray, C., Parry, K., Robinson, P., and Goddard, (2008). Reporting Dissent in Wartime British Press, the Anti-War Movement, and the 2003 Iraq War. European Journal of Communication, 23(1), pp. 23-24, DOI: 10.1177/0267323107085836
Niemann, A., and Blöser, J., (2021). Migration and the Mediterranean: The EU’s Response to the European Refugee Crisis. In: Mason, R., (ed.), (2021). Transnational Security Cooperation in the Mediterranean. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 100-101.
Pavlovich, W. V., (2018) Noxious Geopolitics, Festering Populaces and Transmutable Pasts. Reframing the Limits of Acceptable Politics Through European Refugee Crises. Patterns of Prejudice, 52(2-3), p. 269, DOI: 10.1080/0031322X.2018.1433023
Pope P. J., (2017). Constructing the Refugee as Villain: An Analysis of Syrian Refugee Policy Narratives Used to Justify a State of Exception. World Affairs, 180(3), pp. 66-67, DOI:10.1177/0043820018757542
Rountree, C., and Tilli, F. (Eds.). (2019). National Rhetorics in the Syrian Immigration Crisis: Victims, Frauds, and Floods. Micihigan: Michigan State University Press, pp. 313-316, https://doi.org/10.14321/j.ctvj7wpdx
Said, E., (2003). Orientalism. London: Penguin Classics, pp. 27, 74-75.
Spiegel, P. B., (2022). Responding to the Ukraine refugee health crisis in the EU. The Lancet, 399, p. 2084, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00841-8
Trix, F., (2020). Europe and the Refugee Crisis: Local Responses to Migrants. London: I. B. Tauris, Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 46-47.
copyright Nadim Kahn © 2023