Konferenz "Migration - Frieden - Human Security"

Conference "Migration - Peace - Human Security"

20. - 22. November 2015
Conference Series: "Science for Peace and Sustainability"

The relationship between war, violence, flight and migration has shaped the last century of European history like few other topics. Even today, this nexus predominates the headlines seen by the European public. Not only wars, and the refugee movements caused by them, are considered a threat, but migration overall. The migration policies of the wealthiest regions in the world have now adopted a predominantly military-defensive character and brought dramatic social, economic and political consequences for countries of origin, as well as transit and destination countries. At the same time, wars are increasingly justified using the humanitarian argument that they are intended to prevent displacement. Climate change will be discussed under the proviso that it will lead to dramatic movements to escape harsh climates, and must therefore be stopped. After conflicts, migrant diasporas are often considered to be of crucial importance for reconstruction. How can this complex and contradictory relationship between war, violence, flight and migration be understood?

While many migration projects are currently shaped by experiences with violence, the scientific and political debate about these topics is still in its infancy: What might an immigration policy that is not guided primarily by security considerations, but rather by conflict prevention, violence prevention and social protection for migrants, have as its primary objective? How can a migration policy be designed to understand migration not as an exception caused by crisis and a threat, but as a basic constant of human existence and as a social potential?

The conference "Migration - Peace - Human Security" invites participants from a broad multidisciplinary field of science, politics, civil society organisations and interested members of the public to discuss opportunities, strategies, obstacles and the limitations of such a "dual" perspective change.