{"id":1139,"date":"2019-03-27T03:45:28","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=1139"},"modified":"2019-03-27T03:45:28","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T03:45:28","slug":"never-forget-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=1139","title":{"rendered":"Never forget politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Illustration of the isolation of the EU. Sascha Steinach\/Press Association. All rights reserved. The so-called European
\nmigration crisis and the populist political backlash that ensued \u2013 even if undoubtedly
\ndriven also by a number of other factors \u2013 have created all sorts of challenges
\nfor civil society actors. How to respond effectively to the increasingly
\nhostile societal environment? How to \u201cstay in the game\u201d without giving up on
\ncore principles? What, if any, alternative political agenda should they put
\nforwards? This text attempts to provide a rather sober reading of the situation
\nat hand, and hint towards what I believe can be a way forwards. <\/i><\/p>\n

Shrinking civil space<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not least in Central and
\nEastern Europe, we encounter signs of a shrinking space for civil society.[1] While
\nin certain cases, the evidence remains somewhat anecdotal, there nevertheless seems
\nto be a general trend towards circumventing the modus operandi of
\nnot-for-profit actors. This includes substantial cuts in funding, increased
\nbureaucratic burden, as well as a growing disregard for civil actors\u2019 positions.
\nThe key reason for this development is quite straightforward: the increasing
\ndiscrepancy between what not-for-profits advocate, and the policies that European
\npoliticians pursue (and that their electorates expect them to pursue). While to
\nmany, the decline of civil society actors is the ultimate worrying trend,
\nothers readily put it right at the core of their politics, denouncing
\nrights-based NGOs as foreign agents and enemies of the people who shall be
\ndestroyed if they can\u2019t be stopped.<\/p>\n

Getting real<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In my discussions with
\ncolleagues from the migration not-for-profit sector, I have been repeatedly
\nastounded by the refusal on the part of some to admit to the political
\nrealities. Others strongly insist on taking radical positions which in their minds
\ncould form the basis of a countermovement to widespread public hatred and
\npopulist politics. Respectfully, I have to disagree. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it \u2013 history is not
\non our side. These are not times of great progress when it comes to human
\nrights, let alone migrant rights. Rather, these are times for defending key past
\nachievements, which are in imminent peril. As civil society, we run the risk of
\nbecoming substantially detached from the prevailing public discourse and excluded
\nfrom political decision-making. This would be bad for ourselves, and it would
\nbe worse for the many in whose defense we speak. It is crucial that
\nnot-for-profits retain a say in decision-making and influencing the public
\ndiscourse. To that end, instead of imagining another world, they have to get
\nreal. <\/p>\n

Way forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This means taking into account
\nuncomfortable facts, engaging in painful discussions, standing ready to
\ncompromise, reaching out to non-traditional partners such as businesses and
\nchoosing one\u2019s battles wisely.[2] Not-for-profits
\nmust strive to rebuild their credibility using their unique, usually people-centered
\nexpertise. Without any doubt, the work they are doing in so many fields is
\nfundamental and irreplaceable, even if many would like to forget that. In
\naddition, civil society actors may want to invest more in data-based work,
\nproducing solid research outcomes that are less likely to be rejected outright by
\nstakeholders. <\/p>\n

Indeed, in the post-truth era, getting
\nfacts across has become a challenging endeavor. I do not go as far as to claim
\nthat data gathering and analysis will transform by itself the emotionally
\ncharged discourse into a rational one \u2013 and, sadly, I do not have a definitive
\nanswer to this part of the riddle. Nevertheless, I conclude from experience
\nthat producing these sorts of outputs does boost the not-for-profits\u2019
\ncredibility and impact among political stakeholders and beyond.<\/p>\n

Particularly in the field of
\nmigration, it is no longer feasible for civil society actors to vocally
\ndenounce government policies without putting credible alternatives on the
\ntable. And by credible, I mean workable. Not even the most progressive of
\nEuropean politicians stand ready to consider the notion of \u201cno borders\u201d and of
\nan unrestricted human right to migrate from one state to another. In practical
\nterms, it seems much more useful to start the discussion from the standpoint of
\nhuman rights-imposed limits to legitimate border protection and migration
\ncontrol. As the civil sector, we should be prepared to actively engage in the
\nwhole range of migration policy. In practice, apart from asylum, this includes
\nissues pertaining to labor migration and workers\u2019 protection, integration
\nmeasures including language requirements, regularization but also returns. As a
\ncase in point, we should come to terms with the fact that many irregular
\nmigrants will face return in the decades to come, and do our utmost to ensure that
\nthese do not take place to unsafe countries, that they are assisted rather than
\nforced, and that there is reintegration support.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, the menace of the civil sector compromising its principles
\nand thus losing credibility is also looming. Do not get me wrong. So many out
\nthere are doing a great job against all odds. A plurality of views inherent to
\nthe civil sector forms a basis for an important ongoing discussion on both
\nvalues and tactics. And making concessions is, as it ought to be, painful. It
\nis nonetheless my firm conviction that civil society actors may not simply
\nlimit themselves to discussing and litigating rights while forgetting about
\npolitics. In fact, the gap between formally entrenched rights and the popular resistance
\ntowards their full implementation has become a key issue of our time. We must
\navoid falling readily into the trap of what the Harvard professor Yascha Mounk
\ncalls undemocratic liberalism, which forms one of the sources of populist and chauvinistic
\npolitics.[3] <\/p>\n

For civil society actors all
\naround Europe, these are not easy times. We are used to being in the frontline
\nof social progress. Now, we have to fight for our very relevance and, in some
\ncases, survival. However, our role is perhaps more important than ever. An increasing
\nnumber of politicians, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, refuse to
\nlend civil society an ear. We must reassert ourselves and keep dialogue open
\nwith all of those who do.<\/p>\n

\n

[1] See for instance a speech by Michael O\u2019Flaherty, Director of the EU
\nFundamental Rights Agency, from June 2017:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

[2] Important food for thought can be found in an article on the US
\nDemocrats\u2019 immigration policy.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

[3] For undemocratic liberalism see here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illustration of the isolation of the EU. Sascha Steinach\/Press Association. All rights reserved. The so-called European migration crisis and the populist political backlash that ensued \u2013 even if undoubtedly driven also by a number of other factors \u2013 have created all sorts of challenges for civil society actors. How to respond effectively to the increasingly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}