The Syrian Refugee Crisis appears to have helped create an epidemic of rape and sexual assault across Europe. From startling statistics that reveal Sweden has become the rape capital of the West to the high-profile New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany, these and other types of crimes highlight the need to properly manage the refugee crisis and resolve the underlying factors that contribute to these threats to public safety and security. This includes efforts to address public outrage and criticism that political leaders have failed to act, because they might appear to be “Islamophobic.”
When someone commits a sexual assault or someone is a known sexual predator, that individual is to be treated as a public threat without regard to his, or her, background. Whether discussing self-proclaimed Muslims, Catholic priests, BBC celebrities, politicians, billionaires, or any other group that could cause political problems, European leaders appear to prioritize public relations. Instead of protecting victims and objectively investigating accusations of sexual assault, the institutional impact of accusing, investigating, and prosecuting alleged sexual predators is considered before all else.
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Although a breakup of the European Union was avoided during the Greece Debt Crisis, the politics and economics of the “Brexit” could signal the beginning of the end for the EU and the Eurozone. From an American perspective, the international governing institutions of the European Union always seemed to contradict Europe’s strong cultural diversity and independence. Whatever the fate of the EU happens to be, dramatic political and economic shifts represent the greatest threat to the countries and Peoples of Europe. Europe faces a great deal of uncertainty that can only be mitigated by strong leadership capable of envisioning a path forward and producing policies that solve problems.
Ravished by one economic crisis after another, the Syrian Refugee Crisis currently threatens European stability and regional governance the most. European political leaders are desperate for solutions to the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the political backlash it has inspired. The European Union has rightfully turned to NATO member Turkey, which serves as a gateway to Europe thanks to its lengthy border with Syria. Although the role of Turkey is unavoidable, there are major problems with Turkey’s current leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that could transform Turkey’s solution for the Syrian Refugee Crisis into a far greater larger problem. The Syrian “cessation of hostilities” provides the People of the war torn country much needed relief. It also affords warring parties a chance to recalibrate their strategies, resupply, and reposition. Should the illusion of security persist, the ceasefire offers Western countries a chance to disengage from the conflict. The Assad regime hopes the US in particular will seize upon the chance to save face and terminate support for the Syrian rebels just as was done in the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Constant US reluctance makes such an outcome a very real concern for rebels, yet the ceasefire can also benefit their cause.
Although the US and the rest of the West have compelling interests to avoid further entanglement in the Syrian Civil War and the numerous other security threat of the region, the Syrian Refugee Crisis and Turkey’s geographic entanglement means NATO countries do have an interest in the conflict. Russia’s “shock and awe” strategy against rebel forces has helped force the acceptance of a ceasefire, yet it has also escalated the flow of refugees into Europe. More importantly, the end of Russia’s carpet-bombing campaign will not end the Refugee Crisis. Instead, the added devastation makes it far harder for refugees to return home. The stress and insecurity from the worst drought in 900 years pushed life under the rule of Bashar al-Assad to an unbearable level. Disempowering the Syrian People through decades of authoritarian rule, the Assad regime restricted the capacity of Syrians to provide for their own basic needs. In doing so, the Assad regime chose to be thoroughly responsible for the welfare of the Syrian People, which is why the Assad regime became the target of massive civil unrest. Ultimately, it was Assad’s attempts to violently suppress civil unrest that resulted in the Syrian Civil, yet it was their forced reliance on his inadequate governance that made him the target of neglected Syrians.
Recognizing climate change guarantees widespread drought and food shortages in highly populated regions like Asia, how people might react to scarcity will be essential for proper governance during the comings times of crisis. To understand scarcity, one must understand the psychology of insecurity. Looking at China’s economic woes and Beijing’s efforts to reorganize China’s economy, including plans to lay off six million state industrial workers, such insights can be applied to climate change as well as numerous other situations where populations face crises that put them under duress. Terrorism and the resurgent threat of war between major global powers, coupled with ineffective, unresponsive governance across the globe, have shaken faith in civil society. To provide for the security and general welfare of billions, many see a need for strong leadership to seize control and impose order onto a chaotic world. From Jihadist terrorists who call for theocratic dictatorships to authoritarians who seek to export their brand of governance, there is an effort to frame democracy and freedom as futile pursuits that undermine the security and stability of the world.
Looking at the bloodshed and devastation that has emerged in the wake of the Arab Spring Revolutions, for example, it seems democracy and freedom are more impediments to the proper management of the world’s resources and population than a means of ensuring stability. The Syrian Civil War and the Syrian Refugee Crisis in particular push many to believe freedom is just a luxury commodity lacking any real value that much of the world cannot afford. Clearly, people can use their freedom to do nothing or harm others, but the value of freedom is not an absolute. The value of freedom is determined by what free people choose to do with their freedom. |
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April 2020
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