Global Migration – A Geopolitical Approach

Bachelorarbeit, Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaften und Soziale Arbeit, 57 Seiten, engl.

Summary:

Migration – whether internal or international – is a phenomenon as old as humanity. People have always been on the move. Currently though forced migration – the case of refugees – has gained in importance. The visibility of forced migration has increased over the last few years, especially since Europe has been confronted with its consequences. Different political hotspots are at the root of the current mass migratory movements. In order to get a political, social as well as historical perspective on why people flee their country and how and why they choose a specific migration route, this bachelor thesis takes a geopolitical approach.

Geopolitics – a widely discussed discipline that analyses and defines the relationship between geographical realities and politics – can be a useful tool to describe migration realities. Nonetheless, geopolitics, as any other form of knowledge reflects and reproduces power relations. Therefore, all geopolitical knowledge has to be seen critically.

To render the geopolitical perspective on migration more palpable and less theoretic the case study of forced migration from Eritrea to Europe is briefly discussed. Due to the current (political) situation in Eritrea – best described with an authoritarian regime, a lifelong national service and human rights abuses, people are forced to flee their country. Further political developments and security issues in transit countries like Sudan and Libya as well as the migration regulations in destination countries in Europe influence the way in which people migrate from Eritrea to Europe.