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Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2022
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| _version_ | 1867614083396665344 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Eloff, Christina |
| author2 | Fourie, Pieter Paul |
| author_browse | Eloff, Christina Fourie, Pieter Paul |
| author_facet | Fourie, Pieter Paul Eloff, Christina |
| author_sort | Eloff, Christina |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/125947 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:23.902Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/125947 Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises Eloff, Christina Fourie, Pieter Paul Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science. Humanitarian intervention European Union Refugees -- Protection -- International cooperation Internally displaced persons -- Protection -- International cooperation Syria Libya Asylum, Right of Civil rights International relations Refugees -- Europe -- 21st century UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: People have been on the move for thousands of years. In the last decade, however, refugees have taken a particularly prominent place in the media and politics as global conflicts spread and the climate crisis escalates. From Syria and Libya to Ukraine, millions of people have been forcibly displaced and seek safety in Europe. Refugees are constructed as either victims or villains. The policy and other responses of European states towards refugees and the subsequent constructions of that status present an exciting and challenging subject area for International Relations. Contradictions between European states’ respective securitisation and humanitarian responses to the contemporary refugee crises indicate that states do not respond in a cohesive, single regime manner. The complexity of the issue of states turning to either the category of securitisation or of humanitarianism increases when some states claim to be adhering to the one category, but then act in terms of the other; there initially appears to be a narrative of humanitarianism, but this is then often followed by acts of securitisation. This study poses three research questions – one primary and two sub-questions. The primary research question is: How are the contemporary European refugee crises constructed? The first sub-question is: Are securitisation policies doing more harm than good? The second sub-question is: What is the way forward for the European Union? This study seeks answers to these questions by first presenting an overview of the plight of refugees. It follows a deductive logic and qualitative research method. It is based mainly on secondary sources but includes a small number of semi-structured interviews with key informants as primary sources. Two theoretical frameworks are identified in order to answer the research questions and to analyse the respective case studies (Syria and Libya) effectively. The theoretical frameworks identified – securitisation and humanitarianism – provide the lenses through which the case studies are operationalised. The main conclusion of the study is that refugees have been constructed in an overwhelmingly securitised manner. This type of construction has led to the confinement of people in detention camps, the expulsion of people to unsafe countries, interception at sea and the criminalisation of rescue organisations. Finally, refugees are mostly constructed as villains, not victims. Yet securitisation measures fail to deter refugees; they only increase the risks the refugees must take to reach safety. Therefore, solidarity, not securitisation, is the only humane way forward. The European Union should prioritise repairing its flawed asylum system, increase humanitarian assistance and seek political solutions to conflicts. Without solidarity, the plight of refugees will continue to deteriorate. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mense is al vir duisende jare aan die beweeg. In die afgelope dekade het vlugtelinge 'n prominente plek in die media en politiek ingeneem namate konflikte wereldwyd versprei en die klimaatskrisis eskaleer. Van Sirie en Libie na Oekraine word miljoene mense gewelddadig ontwortel en soek hulle beskerming in Europa. Die uitbeelding van vlugtelinge lei daartoe dat hulle of as slagoffers of as oortreders identifiseer word. Europese state se reaksie teenoor vlugtelinge en die interpretasie wat daarop volg, vorm 'n aangrypende en uitdagende vakgebied in Internasionale Betrekkinge.Teenstrydighede tussen state se reaksie op die sekuritisering van die hedendaagse Europese vlugtelingskrisisse en humanitere praktyke, dui daarop dat state nie weet hoe om te reageer nie. Die kompleksiteit van die kwessie van state wat hulle tot sekuritisering of humanitarisme wend, neem toe wanneer sommige state beweer dat hulle een is maar dan optree soos die ander. Tydens die studie navorsing is drie vrae gevorm, een primer en twee sekondere vrae. Die primere navorsingsvraag is: Hoe word die hedendaagse Europese vlugtelingskrisisse saamgestel? Die eerste sekondere vraag is: Doen sekuritiseringsbeleide meer skade as goed? Die tweede sekondere vraag is: Wat is die pad vorentoe vir die Europese Unie? Hierdie studie fokus daarop om hierdie vrae te beantwoord deur eerstens 'n oorsig van die toestand van vlugtelinge aan te bied. Die studie volg 'n deduktiewe logika en kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetode. Dit is hoofsaaklik gebaseer op sekondere bronne, maar sluit 'n klein aantal semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met sleutel informante as primere bronne in. Twee teoretiese raamwerke is geidentifiseer om die navorsingsvrae wat in hierdie studie aangebied word te beantwoord en om die gevallestudies effektief te ontleed. Die geidentifiseerde teoretiese raamwerke – sekuritisering en humanitarisme – word beskou as lense waardeur die gevallestudies van Sirie en Libie uitgevoer word. Die belangrikste gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat vlugtelinge op 'n oorweldigende sekuritiseerde wyse voorgehou word. Hierdie voorstelling het tot die aanhouding van mense in aanhoudingskampe, die verbanning van mense na onveilige lande, onderskepping op see en die kriminalisering van reddingsorganisasies gevolg gehad. Laastens word vlugtelinge voorgestel as oortreders, en nie slagoffers nie. Sekuritiseringsmaatreels slaag nie daarin om vlugtelinge af te skrik nie; dit verhoog slegs die risiko’s wat hulle moet neem om veiligheid te bereik. Derhalwe is solidariteit, en nie sekuritisering nie, die enigste pad vorentoe. Die Europese Unie moet die herstel van sy gebrekkige vlugteling stelsel prioritiseer, humanitere hulp verbeter en politieke oplossings vir konflikte ondersoek. Sonder solidariteit sal die toestand van vlugtelinge aanhou vererger. Masters 2022-11-12T08:13:25Z 2023-01-16T12:42:32Z 2022-11-12T08:13:25Z 2023-01-16T12:42:32Z 2022-12 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125947 en_ZA Stellenbosch University ix, 122 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Humanitarian intervention European Union Refugees -- Protection -- International cooperation Internally displaced persons -- Protection -- International cooperation Syria Libya Asylum, Right of Civil rights International relations Refugees -- Europe -- 21st century UCTD Eloff, Christina Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title | Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title_full | Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title_fullStr | Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title_full_unstemmed | Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title_short | Victims or villains: Contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary European crises |
| title_sort | victims or villains contending constructions of refugees in the contemporary european crises |
| topic | Humanitarian intervention European Union Refugees -- Protection -- International cooperation Internally displaced persons -- Protection -- International cooperation Syria Libya Asylum, Right of Civil rights International relations Refugees -- Europe -- 21st century UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125947 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eloffchristina victimsorvillainscontendingconstructionsofrefugeesinthecontemporaryeuropeancrises |