Europe's Migration Crisis

Rejecting the assumption that migration is a 'crisis' for Europe, Squire explores alternative responses which provide openings for a renewed humanism.

By situating the perceived 'migration crisis' within a modern European tradition of humanism, Squire provides a distinctive analysis of the EU's response to migration. She also explores pro-migration activist interventions that provide openings for a renewed humanism based on a rejection of longer histories of violence and dispossession.Rejecting claims that migration is a crisis for Europe, this book instead suggests that the 'migration crisis' reflects a more fundamental breakdown of a modern European tradition of humanism. Squire provides a detailed and broad-ranging analysis of the EU's response to the 'crisis', highlighting the centrality of practices of governing migration through death and precarity. Furthermore, she unpacks a series of pro-migration activist interventions that emerge from the lived experiences of those regularly confronting the consequences of the EU's response. By showing how these advance alternative horizons of solidarity and hope, Squire draws attention to a renewed humanism that is grounded both in a deepened respect for the lives and dignity of people on the move, and an appreciation of longer histories of violence and dispossession. This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers working on migration in political science, international relations, European studies, law and sociology.