Media advisory: Nations' differing responses complicate Syrian refugee crisis, KU experts say
LAWRENCE — As the refugee crisis in Europe worsens, there have been calls for governments across the region to take in more refugees, while other nations have taken steps to prevent more people from crossing their borders. The situation has been called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II, with thousands fleeing to escape fighting in Syria and taxing resources in countries throughout the Middle East and Europe.
Two University of Kansas professors are available to speak with media covering the ongoing story about the underlying causes of the crisis, law in relation to the problem, transnationalism and the situation’s effects on the perception and function of the European Union and member nations.
Raj Bhala, associate dean for international & comparative law and Rice Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, is available to speak with media about the ongoing refugee crisis and its underlying causes, including Islamic law and those related to international trade law. The crisis, which gained further attention worldwide after a photo of a toddler who drowned and washed up on a Turkish beach was published last week, was both foreseeable and preventable, he said, but now has become a vicious cycle.
“Poverty in the countries from which the refugees are fleeing opened the door to violent extremism that falsely claimed the banner of Islam. The violence led to disruption of normal economic life, causing more poverty. Beset with its own financial crises, as in Greece, its own extremist movements, as in France and Germany and its own homegrown Islamists, as in Britain, Europe was paralyzed,” Bhala said. “Stiff-arming Turkey from entry in the EU for years, expecting Turkey to deal with the problem, hardly helped. Equally bad, it may be asked why Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have not done more to take in large numbers of refugees.”
Bhala has a global reputation in the scholarship of international trade law and Islamic law. He is the author of the book “Understanding Islamic Law (Shari’a),” published by LexisNexis. He has also written an acclaimed two-volume treatise, “Modern GATT Law” and recently published the fourth edition of International Trade Law: An Interdisciplinary, Non-Western Textbook. Bhala practiced international banking law at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before entering academia, and he currently serves as a legal consultant to Cheniere Energy and other prominent organizations and firms. He has worked in 25 countries, including Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and throughout India.
To schedule an interview, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860 or mkrings@ku.edu.
Andrew Denning, assistant professor of history, can discuss the history of migration in Europe and how the current model of the European Union influences the refugee and migration policies of larger countries, such as Germany, France and Italy. His broad research interests focus on 20th century Europe, mobility studies, environmental history, transnationalism, and empire and global history.
His 2015 book, "Skiing into Modernity: A Cultural and Environmental History" explores how skiing came to define the modern Alps in central Europe and in the process helped alter Europe's cultural and economic direction, especially after World War I.
Denning said the current migration crisis represents a tension between the interests of individual nations in Europe and their desire to band together as a European Union. When challenges have arisen, either through the Greek financial crisis or the migration issues, leaders in individual countries are often quick to ask another country to bear the cost or are less willing to help each other, he said.
"I think recent crises are really a test case for the project of the European Union. The EU is very appealing when Europeans focus on common benefits, such as open markets and freedom of movement, and the perception is that all boats will rise," Denning said. "But when there's a common challenge, many governments retreat to protect narrow national interests."
To arrange an interview with Denning, contact George Diepenbrock, gdiepenbrock@ku.edu, or 785-864-8853.