A Contemporary Middle Eastern History Project

Month: February 2017

Of Immigrants and Refugees

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Ethnic curds at the Syrian-Turkish border 2015. Photo by John Stanmeyer for National Geographic.

The history of mankind is one of constant migration. Peoples have always moved, be it for food, violence, or simple curiosity. Looking at the big picture, the recent controversies on the topic of (im-)migration seems all but marginal. Nevertheless, the debate has gained a considerable political momentum.
In Europe the current so-called “Refugee Crisis”, a direct consequence of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, dominates the public debate. In the United States, President Donald Tump managed to ride on the populist theme of immigration from Latin America. “The Wall” carried him through much of his electoral campaign.

Between security concerns and compassion, opinions are split. As the debates heat up, losing the overview on the issue is an all too human trait. The main arguments for a more liberal or conservative immigration policy will therefore be recapitulated below; three on each side, starting with the ones for a more restrictive policy. The reader is invited to weight each of them based on his/her on values and is highly encouraged to do further research. This is by no means a scientific article, rather a summary of a public debate. The reader may or may not continue with the author’s personal stance in the concluding paragraph.

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welcome to The Past in Present – A Contemporary Middle Eastern Project. The goal of this website is to promote research on the modern Middle East across the scientific fields. This is a humble beginning where I share my current and former projects on the topic and present some useful information and links for fellow researchers and curious readers.

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