Friday, July 14, 2017
East Quad Lecture Theatre (University of Glasgow)
Western Europeans are grappling with security issues produced by terrorist acts, most notably in France, Belgium, Germany, and Turkey. Concomitantly, a humanitarian crisis created by war in Syria has pressured these countries to help accommodate 4.8 million refugees, creating social and political conflict. In the US, terror has been used as a rhetorical tool to justify closing the door to Syrian refugees. Western countries struggle with an ethic of responsibility regarding refugees, while facing fear resulting from high profile terrorist acts. In this moment, how are safety, ethnicity, and migration to be understood? This study contributes to the growing literature on the intersection of the migration crisis and perceptions of risk associated with terrorism and crime. New but familiar security regimes are being developed and deployed by government, politicians, and citizens to make sense of terrorism and to assuage perceptions of risk. We present results from our analysis of data collected in the summer of 2016. Field observations in France revealed that the nation is engaged in a high profile campaign to address security concerns among citizens and visitors, and there is a reluctance to support the humanitarian migrant effort. In contrast, Germany leads Western Europe in accepting Syrian refugees. In-depth interviews and observations reveal that Germany is adopting long-term strategies for helping Syrians to assimilate as Germans, although there is disagreement over policies and goals. Finally, we show how some US politicians exploit terror in Europe, using anti-Muslim rhetoric to garner votes during the 2016 elections.
