Archive for category Immigration
Book Review: Postmodern Citizenship
Posted by Nick Cowen in European Union, Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion on 06/02/2012
By David Conway
Title: Citizenship in America and Europe: Beyond the Nation-State?
Author: Michael S. Greve and Michael Zoller
Publish Date: 2009
Publisher / Edition: AEI Press, 2009
The collapse of the Soviet Union transformed the political landscape of the West no less profoundly than it did that east of the former Iron Curtain. Long moribund but virulent nationalisms were quickly aroused in the Balkans, as were equally intense tribal rivalries in several of the Soviet Union’s former client states in sub-Saharan Africa. Ensuing civil war and violent conflict led a large exodus of refugees from these troubled regions to seek asylum in the West, along with many economic migrants, whose numbers were swollen by the large international population flows that attended the sudden global expansion of capitalism also triggered by the Soviet Union’s collapse. In Europe’s case, foreign immigration was further augmented by the opportunity the Soviet Union’s collapse presented Germany to reunify and many of the Soviet Union’s former satellite states in East Europe to join the European Union.
Ill-Advised Advice Opt Out
Posted by Carolina Bracken in Civil Liberty, Crime, European Union, Human Rights, Immigration on 16/09/2011
Successive governments have been censured for ensnaring the UK in unwanted, unwarranted EU legislation. Given the vigour with which the country has repeatedly signed up to obligations of spurious merit, it is particularly disheartening to see the Government opt out of a Directive that has the potential to assist some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.
EHRC refuses Britain a fair hearing
Posted by Nick Cowen in Civil Liberty, Human Rights, Immigration, Multiculturalism, Political Correctness on 08/08/2011
The Equality and Human Rights Commission contributes very little to meaningful equality in Britain today and should be abolished, according to a new Civitas report. Added to the Government’s much trumpeted ‘bonfire of the quangos’, the EHRC would save the Treasury tens of millions of pounds at no obvious cost to the general public.
Small Corroding Words, by Jon Gower Davies, is a systematic critique of the philosophy, research and practice of the EHRC. It reveals serious flaws in the EHRC’s ‘triennial review’, How Fair Is Britain?, that was used to demonstrate unfairness in Britain. What the research actually shows are the statistical differences between some groups. This line of thinking entails, for example, taking the fact that men are more likely to die in work-related accidents than women as a sign of unfairness. (pp. 8-9) The EHRC inaccurately blames Britain for differences of this kind.
Border-Free Market
Posted by Carolina Bracken in Crime, European Union, Immigration on 11/05/2011
Having trawled through 70,000 pages of police intelligence, Europol has published a report examining serious organised crime within the EU. Although the paper is ostensibly a study of European law enforcement rather than an advisory document, its findings will inevitably have significant ramifications for member states’ immigration strategies, which policy makers would be unwise to ignore.
Hasta la visa, baby!
Posted by David Merlin-Jones in European Union, Immigration on 08/04/2011
By Aoife O’Donnell
This week heralded a new cap on immigration to the UK. The policy should come as a surprise to no one: the ‘numbers game’ has long been a feature of the British debate on immigration. The cap is the highest-profile element of a regulatory package of policies meant to meet the Government’s target of reducing net immigration to the UK to ‘tens rather than hundreds of thousands’. At the moment, Britain is experiencing a net immigration to the UK of around 200,000 per annum alongside soaring youth unemployment rates. This target may therefore seem to make political sense – especially given public concerns about immigration. However, in reality, it is bad policy and a waste of time.
The Greek Wall of Immigration Control
Posted by Carolina Bracken in European Union, Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration on 05/01/2011
In an attempt to curb its growing illegal immigration crisis, Greece has revealed plans to erect a 128 mile wall along its Turkish border. The Ministry of Public Order has stated that Greece “has reached its limits in taking in illegal immigrants”, with over 100,000 entering the country in 2010.
