Choosing to Act: A Scrutiny of Greece-Based Pro-Immigration Civil Groups
Authors
Fredsgaard, Jonatan Lindhart ; Andersen, Lars Jacob Steen
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan medlemmer af græsk-baserede pro-immigrations civile grupper motiveres og retfærdiggør deres eksistens som svar på den store tilstrømning af især syriske flygtninge, der tiltog i 2014, toppede i 2015-2016 og siden er aftaget. Det centrale forskningsspørgsmål er, hvordan gruppemedlemmer begrunder eksistensen af disse grupper, der er opstået som reaktion på den aktuelle flygtningesituation. Analysen bygger på Stephen D. Krasners regimeteori, Mancur Olsons logik om kollektiv handling med fokus på fripassageri samt Charles Tilly og Lesley J. Woods socialbevægelsesteori med vægt på WUNC (værdighed, enhed, antal og engagement). Disse rammer kobles til empirisk materiale fra akademiske og politiske kilder og en feltrejse til Grækenland (3.-15. april 2017), hvor syv interviews med medlemmer af pro-immigrationsgrupper blev gennemført; den anti-immigrationsorienterede modpol inddrages også med fokus på Golden Dawn. Specialet viser, at de civile grupper agerer inden for det europæiske flygtningeregime, hvor fripassageri forekommer mellem aktører; dette er afgørende for at forstå, hvorfor der opstår plads til civile grupper. Endvidere argumenteres for, at især WUNC-dimensionerne værdighed og engagement er centrale for, hvordan gruppemedlemmer retfærdiggør gruppers eksistens i lyset af et svækket europæisk flygtningeregime.
This thesis examines how members of Greece-based pro-immigration civil groups are motivated and justify their groups’ existence in response to the large inflow of refugee migrants—primarily from Syria—that rose in 2014, peaked in 2015-2016, and has since declined. The central research question asks how group members justify the existence of these pro-immigration groups that emerged in response to the current refugee situation. The analysis draws on Stephen D. Krasner’s regime theory, Mancur Olson’s logic of collective action with a focus on freeriding, and Charles Tilly and Lesley J. Wood’s social movement theory, emphasizing WUNC (worthiness, unity, numbers and commitment). These frameworks are integrated with empirical material from academic and policy sources and a field trip to Greece (3-15 April 2017) during which seven interviews were conducted with members of pro-immigration groups; the anti-immigration perspective is also discussed, with attention to Golden Dawn. The thesis finds that civil groups operate within the European refugee regime, where freeriding occurs among actors; this helps explain why space exists for civil groups in the first place. It further argues that within WUNC, worthiness and commitment are pivotal to how members justify group existence against the backdrop of a weakening European refugee regime.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
Documents