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The Scramble For Europe by Stephen Smith
Sep. 30th, 2019 09:26 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
From the harrowing situation of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean in rubber dinghies to the crisis on the US-Mexico border, mass migration is one of the most urgent issues facing our societies today. At the same time, viable solutions seem ever more remote, with the increasing polarisation of public attitudes and political positions.
In this book, Stephen Smith focuses on ‘young Africa’ - 40 per cent of its population are under fifteen - and a dramatic demographic shift. Today, 510 million people live inside EU borders, and 1.25 billion in Africa. In 2050, 450 million Europeans will face 2.5 billion Africans - five times their number. The demographics are implacable. The scramble for Europe will become as inexorable as the ‘scramble for Africa’ was at the end of the nineteenth century, when 275 million people lived north and only 100 million lived south of the Mediterranean. Then it was all about raw materials and national pride, now it is about young Africans seeking a better life on the Old Continent, the island of prosperity within their reach. If Africa’s migratory patterns follow the historic precedents set by other less developed parts of the world, in thirty years a quarter of Europe’s population will be Afro-Europeans. Addressing the question of how Europe can cope with an influx of this magnitude, Smith argues for a path between the two extremes of today’s debate. He advocates migratory policies of ‘good neighbourhood’ equidistant from guilt-Rudder self-denial and nativist egotism.
This sobering analysis of the migration challenges we now face will be essential reading for anyone concerns with the great social and political questions of our time.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Stephen Smith is Professor of African Studies at Duke University and spent 30 years as a journalist in Africa. His book is strong on the human geography of Africa, particularly the problems of its youthful population, the tensions with gerocentric political structures and the levers encouraging migration to Europe and America but is weak on how to address this and at times he offers up literary tangents that give colour but no facts.
THE SCRAMBLE FOR EUROPE was released in the United Kingdom on 26th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
From the harrowing situation of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean in rubber dinghies to the crisis on the US-Mexico border, mass migration is one of the most urgent issues facing our societies today. At the same time, viable solutions seem ever more remote, with the increasing polarisation of public attitudes and political positions.
In this book, Stephen Smith focuses on ‘young Africa’ - 40 per cent of its population are under fifteen - and a dramatic demographic shift. Today, 510 million people live inside EU borders, and 1.25 billion in Africa. In 2050, 450 million Europeans will face 2.5 billion Africans - five times their number. The demographics are implacable. The scramble for Europe will become as inexorable as the ‘scramble for Africa’ was at the end of the nineteenth century, when 275 million people lived north and only 100 million lived south of the Mediterranean. Then it was all about raw materials and national pride, now it is about young Africans seeking a better life on the Old Continent, the island of prosperity within their reach. If Africa’s migratory patterns follow the historic precedents set by other less developed parts of the world, in thirty years a quarter of Europe’s population will be Afro-Europeans. Addressing the question of how Europe can cope with an influx of this magnitude, Smith argues for a path between the two extremes of today’s debate. He advocates migratory policies of ‘good neighbourhood’ equidistant from guilt-Rudder self-denial and nativist egotism.
This sobering analysis of the migration challenges we now face will be essential reading for anyone concerns with the great social and political questions of our time.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Stephen Smith is Professor of African Studies at Duke University and spent 30 years as a journalist in Africa. His book is strong on the human geography of Africa, particularly the problems of its youthful population, the tensions with gerocentric political structures and the levers encouraging migration to Europe and America but is weak on how to address this and at times he offers up literary tangents that give colour but no facts.
THE SCRAMBLE FOR EUROPE was released in the United Kingdom on 26th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
