European Union

Struggling for Time on Lesvos: The Impact of EU and National Legislation and Procedures on Refugee Temporalities

Since the summer of 2015, the Greek island of Lesvos has been centre stage of the so-called refugee crisis and one of the sites where new EU policies for migration control have been tested and implemented. This combined study of jurisprudence with ethnographic fieldwork aims to understand the impact of the asylum regime on the…

Grains of dust in the Aegean archipelago: Unruly migrants and everyday resistance in EU hotspots

This article centres the everyday resistance practices by illegalised migrants contained in EU hotspots in Greece. Set against the regime of violent abandonment governing these carceral spaces, the article draws on ethnographic research in the Aegean archipelago to explore how resistance is enacted, experienced, and suppressed. The analysis foregrounds three distinct tactics of resistance –…

Navigating disputed waters: legal frameworks and strategies for maritime boundary resolution

The purpose of this study is precisely to demonstrate the mutual obligations of the states in the disputed maritime areas until the final settlement of their boundary dispute, the importance of natural resources both for the economic development of the states and for the protection of the natural environment, proposing cooperative methods for the sustainable…

Activist burnout in No Borders: The case of a highly diverse movement

Activist burnout is a common threat to activists’ personal sustainability and to a movement’s effectiveness. Compared to related fields such as humanitarian aid or social work we know relatively little about mental health risks in activists or how a specific activist environment may contribute to mental health outcomes. This study examines the case of the…

Border Pushbacks in Greece: Human Rights Violations and Psychological Impacts

The illegal practice of border pushbacks by sea along Greece’s borders has become standardised and normalised despite the severe human rights violations associated with it. Refugees and asylum seekers subjected to border pushbacks endure numerous forms of abuse, including physical, emotional, and verbal violence, which exacerbate the trauma from their perilous journeys in search of…

Europe’s population crisis: see how your country compares – visualised

Europe’s population crisis: see how your country compares – visualised

The rise of the far-right could speed up the population decline of Europe, projections show, creating economic shocks including slower growth and soaring costs from pensions and elderly care. Anti-immigration politics is on the rise across the EU, as shown by the gains made by far-right parties in the 2024 elections. Meanwhile, the anti-immigration Alternative…

How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar

How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar

From Madrid to Barcelona, restaurants and bars are brimming with people, and reservations have become essential for everything from fine dining to high-end hotels. It’s a glimpse of how Spain has become Europe’s buzziest economy – named the world’s best by the Economist in 2024 – fuelled in part by what analysts have described as…

From Fortress Europe to Border-Filter: Vulnerability, Biopolitics, and the Management of Migration in Greece and the European Union after 2015

Following increased migration flows in 2015, the European Commission (EC) and the Greek government implemented new strategies and legislation to regulate mobility in the EU area. The impact of one of these strategies is especially important. The EC “European Agenda on Migration” was implemented by Greek Asylum Law 4375/2016 and followed up with subsequent legislation….