By Randall Margo, PhD
G.L.O.B.A.L Justice Commentator/Global Economy & Administration Adjunct Faculty, Golden Gate University; Public Administrator
Since the 1950s, European leaders have pursued the objective of political and economic integration through the Treaties of Rome, culminating with the Schengen Agreement, which allowed people and commerce to move freely within 26 European Countries without internal border controls. That historical objective is being severally tested as migration of large numbers of refugees from war torn areas of the Middle East and North Africa to Europe continues unabated. Concurrently, European jihadist sympathizers journey unimpeded through European nations to join the Middle East fighting. Now, a backlash is occurring among many citizens of Europe’s nation-states as they confront the trade-off that allows for the free movement of people whose culture, value and customs oftentimes conflict with the majority of those residing within these European nations.
Reestablishing controls over their national borders in order to halt immigration challenges the underlying tenant of the European Union’s goal of political unification. Already, this larger aspiration of European political and economic integration was questioned when Greece defaulted on its debt, and exacerbated by a Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is now under further philosophical assault, as residents of individual nation-states resist an influx of emigrants who are perceived as unwilling to forgo their culture, customs and religious beliefs, and consequently, disinclined to embrace the culture and values prevalent among today’s secular societies in Europe.
Controls over internal borders, formerly forsaken as a relic of past conflicts, are now viewed as protecting and preserving the principles and ideals that evolved from the ashes of World War II. In some sense, it recalls the topic drawn from Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall, in which the issue of whether “Good fences make good neighbors” is debated. Frost asks, “What was I walling in or walling out” to speculate about his poem’s overarching proposition, “Why do fences make good neighbors?” Frost and his neighbor never agree on this matter, as they work together to mend the wall, yet they do so in a congenial manner even though they share different viewpoints. In retrospect, it’s noteworthy that Frost’s poem was published in 1914, just months prior to the beginning of World War I, which concluded with the modification if not evisceration of many national boundaries, and the creation of new ones.
Prominent among the global issues we now face, is that the speed of travel and communications accompanied by substantial reductions in their cost has fundamentally altered the nature of commerce, information and emigration, and thus, reduced many of the established boundaries of commerce, customs, and most importantly, people. Grappling with these changes is causing reexamination of what it means to be a person of a particular place or region. Prior to the recent immigration crisis, Europe saw the former country of Yugoslavia break apart into five separate entities, Scotland nearly splitting from Great Britain, Catalonia seeking to secede from Spain, and most significantly, the fragmentation of the former Soviet Union into numerous nation-states. In essence, as European leaders seek a further merger of Europe’s nations as they grow metaphorically closer to one another through modern technology and travel, one can observe a distinct counterweight among people choosing to isolate and identify more strongly with the place in which they reside, and as significantly, the culture and customs that create those ties to the place they live. Add to these factors, high unemployment, stagnant wages and dismal economic growth and extraordinary government debt obligations occurring in many European nations and assimilation of a million or more newcomers from Middle Eastern and North Africa was bound to cause friction. The migration crisis has brought to the forefront whether Europe will continue on its path towards political union, or revert back to its national borders. The distance across the Mediterranean Sea is not great, but from Roman times forward in history, when it has been crossed by large numbers of people, troubles often followed.
Perhaps, the wisdom of Mr. Frost’s neighbor was in understanding that living with boundaries in which each person could live as they choose was more likely to maintain peaceful coexistence, compared to living together where they were required to accommodate one another’s beliefs.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice. We are a faith-based, nonpartisan organization that seeks to extend the conversation about justice with a posture of dignity and respect.