War, Migration and Societal Security: The Case of the Iraqi Kurdish Diasporas in Europe
War, Migration and Societal Security: The Case of the Iraqi Kurdish Diasporas in Europe

Summary/Abstract: This paper studies the linkage between migration and (in)security in the context of two major conflicts that have marked the recent history of the Iraqi Kurds: the Gulf War and the Iraq War. One of its observations is that current migratory patterns from the Middle East towards Western Europe and the emergence of Middle Eastern ‘diasporas’ within the EU are important sources of perceived insecurity for the citizens of the recipient countries. This is related to a number of reasons including: historical experiences, recent events, cultural and religious cleavages, economic disparities, normative differences etc. Most of these factors are actually overemphasized and even exploited by the political elites or the mass-media. The European societies had become throughout centuries homogenous societies. The foreign element was usually rejected and blamed for anything went wrong within the society. A residual xenophobia is still manifesting in the behaviour of many Westerners whether or not they acknowledged it. Meanwhile, the positive aspects of migration are frequently forgotten.

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