'Fortress Europe? Challenges and failures of migration and asylum policies' , edited by Annette Jünemann, Nicolas Fromm and Nikolas Scherer

The Syrian civil war started in 2011. It created 6 million refugees, many of whom attempted to make their way to countries in central and northern Europe. The outbreak of the refugee crisis in 2015 generated an uncontrolled flux of refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants desperately seeking to reach European shores. It was the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War and its effects are still being felt today.

Public opinion has been divided on migration and asylum policies ever since. The European Union faced a moment of moral introspection in its search for solutions. To complicate things even further, the crisis coincided with the rise of populist, hyper-nationalist parties and anti-immigration sentiment.

'Fortress Europe? Challenges and failures of migration and asylum policies' examines the challenges and failures of the policies concerned and looks at potential solutions to this increasingly complex issue.

It is divided into three parts:

• Migration: legal, economic and political determinants; the first part covers some of the root causes of migration in the Euro-Mediterranean area, taking account of legal, economic and diplomatic aspects
• EU migration policies: this section paints an ambiguous picture of 'Fortress Europe', focusing on the EU's migration policies, in both theory and practice
• Germany's integration debate: this part looks at how migration poses a societal challenge in receiving societies like Germany.

The authors assess the efficiency of the EU migration system, bearing in mind the number of people risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and the number of deaths.

Both the editors of this book and its contributors see migration as a direct consequence of globalisation. Companies can freely relocate their production sites, taking countless jobs with them. This has a knock‑on effect on migration, as workers need to follow work in order to survive. The authors also examine some of the proposed solutions to the crisis - such as legal barriers to migration, and sending migrants back to their country of origin.

The book is composed of articles written in English and French by authors from both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.

If you would like to read this book it is available at the Council Library and can be requested via Eureka.

About the editors:

Dr. Annette Jünemann is Professor for Political Science and International Relations, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.Nicolas Fromm is political consultant and PhD candidate, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.Nikolas Scherer is political consultant and PhD candidate, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin.

This book review does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.

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