Forced Population Movements as a Current Ethical Dilemma and the Possibilities of Collective Action

Year 2016, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 7 - 21, 15.06.2016

C. Akça Ataç

Abstract

The spirit of our times has been increasingly determined by refugee crisis and asylum institutions. If one
could read the ongoing economic, political, environmental and demographic crises correctly, a refugee
crisis would not have been treated as unexpected, unfortunate singular coincidence. A comprehensive,
non-proscriptive approach with a collective, multilevel engagement must urgently be generated by the
international community to create an all-encompassing legal consciousness.

This paper seeks to delve into the question of the current refugee crisis from an historical point of view
and recount the progress of the international refugee regime. In doing that it will also discuss the possi-
bility of the launch of a collective action by the international community in the present. Refugee history
is not progressive; it has not linearly proceeded towards comprehensive solutions. There are ruptures,
retreats, changes of attitude -from positive to negative, from negative to inaction. Despite the growing
global governance with the participation of international and non-governmental organizations, states
are still the major actors in the refugee regime. The dominant role of the states in managing the refugee
crisis creates an ethical dilemma, as is the case in every normative context state is involved. This paper,
therefore, will finally assess the ethical dilemma unveiled by the recent EU-Turkey refugee deal. 

Keywords

refugee crisis, EU-Turkey relations, forced population, collective action

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