How Effective Are Borders in Keeping People out?
This is episode eight of our course Migration 101. In this course, we’ve teamed up with Hein de Haas, one of the field’s leading scholars, to tackle some of the most commonly asked questions related to migration. After watching his videos, you’ll have a fundamental understanding of the realities surrounding today’s debate on migrants and the refugee crisis. We recommend Migration 101 as a primer for other Migration Matters courses.
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PART 8/10 OF MIGRATION 101
2015 was the year we saw borders return to the European Union. Not just physical borders: Britain’s decision to leave the EU was partly driven by the desire to reduce migration and will likely result in imposed restrictions on mobility.
However, borders and visas do not always have their intended effect, Hein argues in this episode.
Recommended Reading
Hein’s blog post on the inability of European governments to act together to regulate a shared border system, and another post where Hein describes the effect of visas, linking to original research.
A key part of Europe’s border is its coast guard. Watch this short documentary on the Italian effort to save the lives of those making the crossing.
A journalistic investigation into the human and financial cost of 15 years of “Fortress Europe”.
A report on the costs of Europe’s border industry from the UK’s Overseas Development Institute, arguing that Europe must shift from an emphasis on deterring migration towards a pragmatic approach to manage it better.
What do we know about circular migration? A report from the Migration Policy Institute.
Check out this episode from our other course, Six Impossible Ideas (after Brexit), where Oxford anthropologist Ruben Andersson tells us his view on the border control industry and offers picks for further reading.
Hein de Haas
Hein is Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. He was a founding member and director of the International Migration Institute at the University of Oxford. He is a co-author of The Age of Migration, a leading textbook in the field of migration. You can find more information and free downloads of his publications on his website. He also maintains a blog – we recommend this entry titled “Human migration: myths, hysteria and facts“.
Sign up now for our newest course, A Migrant’s View, here. It’s a bit different than our other courses, focussing on both research about so-called “origin countries” (where migrants and refugees come from) and stories of arrival, waiting, and return. And don’t miss our next course on integration and diversity in Europe! Sign up here to receive the full series once it’s finished.