Category Archives: Human rights

A smart or a bold move: how Merkel dealt with the refugee crisis

Ying Zang is a Master of Public Policy student in UCD. This blog was written for POL40160 Comparative Public Policy. The best blogs from this module were selected to enable talented graduate students in UCD to contribute to ongoing debates about contemporary policy issues affecting European societies.  Ever since the Syrian refugee crisis erupted in the summer ofContinue reading “A smart or a bold move: how Merkel dealt with the refugee crisis”

Lessons for the Ukraine crisis from a British television comedy

A 28-year old British television comedy brings us salient lessons for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. In it, a British Prime Minister is teasing out the implications of nuclear deterrence with his central European-accented scientific advisor. The adviser is pressing the newly installed Prime Minister to clarify the precise circumstances under which he will beContinue reading “Lessons for the Ukraine crisis from a British television comedy”

EU shares responsibility for the mistreatment of migrants in Greece

Media coverage of the mistreatment of migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece has focused, quite rightfully, on the responsibilities of the Greek government — both its duty to ensure that all individuals are processed according to legal guidelines and its duty to ensure their protection from violent abuse by vigilante gangs and even by public officials.Continue reading “EU shares responsibility for the mistreatment of migrants in Greece”

European migration policy and the Greek crisis it is provoking

Greece is at the hard end of another European policy problem, related to austerity, but this time to do with immigration, and it’s turning into a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis. According to Europe’s border control agency Frontex, 93% of migrants to Europe came through eastern and central Mediterranean routes in 2011. With the tighteningContinue reading “European migration policy and the Greek crisis it is provoking”

Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary

The challenge of managing the EU’s on-going economic crisis has distracted the Union from worrisome political developments within some of its member states. The worst offender here is Hungary, where the government has initiated legislative and constitutional changes and used political rhetoric and symbolic actions that are clearly incompatible with its obligations as an EU member toContinue reading “Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary”

Will the Irish EU presidency get serious about political extremism in Europe?

We’ve all heard of Silvio Berlusconi’s recent praise for Benito Mussolini on Holocaust Memorial Day. But he’s not alone. The European Commission observes that political parties across Europe are seeking to win voters from extremist movements by borrowing their hate-filled language and imagery. And we know that these movements are growing. Have a look atContinue reading “Will the Irish EU presidency get serious about political extremism in Europe?”

Back to the future, again: Jews as a “national security risk”

Is this 2012 or 1932? As reported by CNBC, the leader of Hungary’s third largest party has just used a televised session of parliament to call on the government to compile a list of all Jews in the country because, he says, they pose a “national security risk.” Does this sound familiar? Even today, respect for the most basicContinue reading “Back to the future, again: Jews as a “national security risk””

Another look at ‘Europe’s New Fascists’

This recent story from The New York Times offers several chilling illustrations of the growing threat that extremist groups pose to democracy and human rights in Europe. As I have written in earlier posts, the protracted nature of the current economic crisis inevitably broadens and deepens public support for extremist agendas. The answer is notContinue reading “Another look at ‘Europe’s New Fascists’”

The real spectre haunting Europe

How safe is democracy in Europe? Observers of extremist political movements have sometimes described them as “self-disqualifying” — that is, the louder they shout, the less they are heard (or at least listened to) by mainstream voters and parties. If this were true, and established democracies really have such a built-in circuit breaker, we wouldContinue reading “The real spectre haunting Europe”

The Myth of Exceptional Europe: The Failure of EU Foreign Policy

The notion of the European Union being an exceptional international actor is well established in the literature and dates from the very inception of ‘Europe’ as being a continental peace project. In today’s literature, while a number of variations on the theme exist, the dominant model is that of the Union as a ‘normative power’.Continue reading “The Myth of Exceptional Europe: The Failure of EU Foreign Policy”