Re-Imagining the European (Political) Community through Migration Law

Summary:

The constant portrayal of migration as an exceptional and problematic phenomenon fuels public anxieties and makes deterrence and harshness seem like the only effective political approaches to managing global migration. By contrast, positive visions of how a society of immigration needs to look like for all members of society to benefit are scarce. Yet to counter apocalyptic scenarios, we need not only such a positive vision but also a theory of societal action that helps to realize it. This blog post offers such a vision and theory that is grounded in the normative and legal framework of the European Union.

It argues that we should conceptualize the European society as an inclusive, participatory, and self-reflexive community that is based on constitutional principles as enshrined in Art. 2 TEU. To realize this vision, we must understand practices of claiming and defending human rights not as an overreach into the political latitude of the legislator but as a joint practice of (political) community-building. What is more, contrary to the timid approach it currently displays, the Court of Justice of the EU should take seriously its role as an inclusive facilitator and forum of constitutional self-reflection. To conceptualize the European society as a society of immigration would facilitate a broad constitutional discourse based on pluralism, mutual respect, and interaction. To achieve this goal, we should view migration as an investment in our future, not a threat thereto.

Further information:

This article belongs to the debate Rethinking the Law and Politics of Migration.