European migration policy might as well be called 'a politics of death', according to PhD student Eva van Gemert (Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences). Even so, the European Union is appealing to European humanitarian values to save lives. In her dissertation, she shows how this apparent contradiction is possible. To do this, Van Gemert is looking at the period 2015-2020, when the EU declared a migration crisis.
Why exactly are you looking at the period 2015-2020, when the EU declared the migration crisis?
'In my dissertation, I start with the story of baby Sophia. She was born in 2015 on one of the ships of a European rescue mission, which had just saved her mother from drowning in the Mediterranean. A few months before, two boats had wrecked and nearly 900 migrants had drowned in a short span of time. Although shipwrecks aren’t exactly rare, the EU seized on the moment to declare a migration crisis. It did so in a specific way: by appealing to Europe’s humanitarian values. At the same time, Europe’s politics of death continued as usual. As a researcher, I find it interesting to investigate the consequences of this and what this can tell us about Europe.'
Operation Sophia is one of the case studies in your dissertation. Why is it interesting to you?
'This mission was first called the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean, but it was soon renamed Operation Sophia. Officially, Operation Sophia is a military mission aimed at countering human trafficking. This makes it a continuation of the violence that characterises European migration policy. Federica Mogherini, then the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, claimed that ‘fighting human trafficking is a way to save lives’. However, the main purpose of Operation Sophia was to prevent people from crossing to Europe, rather than rescuing people at sea. Eventually, it had to resort to the latter, and the mission was abandoned.'
Stopping the mission because it became too successful: that sounds rather hypocritical…
'For me, it’s not about establishing hypocrisy. In my dissertation, I ask how what I refer to as ‘the politics of death’ and humanitarianism can coexist and reinforce each other. During my research into Operation Sophia, there was a continuous appeal to liberal values and the human rights that Europe values so much. Things like ‘surely we Europeans can’t bear the thought of so many people drowning’. This depiction of European humanity appears in all the case studies. European humanity is a contradiction, because if you start from a universal concept of humanity, it can by definition never be European. That’s the source of tension: Europe makes a universal claim to compassion, while at the same time applying it selectively and violently.'
Where did this come from?
'The concept of "mankind" was never a universal one, but applied from the start to a very specific group of people, namely white European colonisers. They could only understand themselves as ‘human’ through a non-human Other: the colonised subject. This has effectively remained unchanged. It has become more subtle, but the idea of being human, as Europe understands it, remains very selective. The place of the non-human Other has been largely taken by the figure of the Migrant. That makes it possible to exercise considerable violence under the guise of border policy, and in the name of Europe’s human values. Therefore, Europe’s ‘migration crisis’ is actually the continuation of colonial relations in a new form.'
What does this appeal to European humanitarian values mean for the migration crisis?
'Two things are happening. On the one hand, a European history of exploitation and violence is being erased. On the other hand, it makes Europe itself feel vulnerable and threatened. That subsequently becomes a reason to use even more force to protect Europe – in other words, a politics of death.'
Who should read your dissertation?
'What I’m saying isn’t news to people from the Global South, who experience the selectivity of humanity first-hand. This is primarily a dissertation for white people. I believe whiteness is a many-headed monster that needs to be constantly besieged from all sides. It’s important for white people to see that they’re not innocent and are made complicit in white violence, even if they don’t want to be. Once they do, resistance will become possible.'
- More information
On November 5th, Eva van Gemert was a guest at NPO Radio 1 to talk about her dissertation. Watch or listen to the entire fragment here (in Dutch).
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