Dreaming of Europe: Refugees and the Old Continent

• In Event: Immigration & Democracy: Neoliberalism in Europe

Abstract

The paper examines the refugee-work-democracy nexus in Europe. There is ample evidence that low-skilled migrants, including refugees, incorporate into the same sectors - logistics, textiles, construction, caregiving - across Western Europe. The European economy depends on them. Yet, the arrival of migrants and refugees (above all the minority who arrive by boat) are generating great public opposition and the rise of the far-right, which threatens democracy itself. The paper explores the degree to which the opening of legal channels and the reframing of migrants as positive for the European economy could build support for migration and reduce support for the far-right.

Author

• Randall A. Hansen, University of Toronto