Hospitality and refugeeness : a comparative discourse study on the Syrian refugees crisis in Europe and the Gulf -

Abstract

The recent public debates surrounding the refugee influx of Europe has inspired an examination of humanitarian responses in both Europe and the Gulf. In light of the tragic death of Alan Kurdi on 3 September 2015, both regions found themselves in the spotlight for the mishandling of their responses towards the crisis. However, both regions have different histories concerning migration and humanitarian response. The European Union is currently made up of 28 Member States, all of which are signatories to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and a Common European Asylum System is in place which standardizes reception, qualification, and procedures for international protection applicants. Europe has a long history of dealing with irregular migration and refugees, and international legal obligations date back to the post-second world war period. States in the Gulf region, on the other hand, are not party to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and its migration history has dealt more strictly with labor, rather than humanitarian, crises. Moreover, the evolution of labor policies over recent history in the Gulf can inform us of how immigration categories developed, especially in regards to the 1980s when labor migration preference shifted from the Arab world to Asian and south Asian migrants. This thesis will seek to answer two main questions: what themes or trends feature prominently in the public debates of these two regions, and what factors emerged to shape the public discourse – be it ideological affiliation, security risks, economic factors, or external pressures? In order to answer these questions, a content analysis was produced of major newspapers in Europe and the Gulf. A statistical analysis was run from data collected during article research as well as the review of traditional scholastic discourses on migration in these two regions.