From “united in exploitation” to “united in diversity”: Postcolonial perspectives regarding Europe’s economic migration fluxes

Abstract

The current paper engages with the topic and patterns of migration flows to Europe from a historically driven critical perspective. To do so, the research is focused primarily on examining the intentions of European States and their immigration policies, either liberal or restrictive, throughout the ages across the pan-European area. The scope of the research is limited to historical migration in Europe, and we employ a retrospective approach to analyze them critically. This is done through the lens of the postcolonialism school of thought, as they prove to be the most efficient when explaining fluctuations and modulations recorded. These scholars underlined varying push and pull factors that led to migration toward Europe, especially during modern times. Furthermore, we interpret and overlook how the “united in diversity” desiderates are reflected across the EU’s current undertakings, as we employ a critical approach to interpret recent evolutions and draw up prospective avenues holistically. In conclusion, we observe repeating patterns of exploitative systems in the European view of migration, especially toward worker migrants. Hence, we assert that colonial reminiscences are left across some sectorial levels. We advocate that collective intervention is required to eradicate these postcolonial approaches.