Fortress Europe vs. Open Borders

The two nonfictional texts juxtaposed in this chapter; The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam (2018; originally published in 2017) by Douglas Murray, and Against Borders: The Case for Abolition (2022) by Gracie May Bradley and Luke de Noronha, address migration from a perspective of how borders should be managed and controlled, and what should be done about contemporary policies with regard to migration. The focus is primarily on Europe and Britain. The chapter examines statements made in both texts and connect them with statistics and scholarly research about migration. Murray’s book is critical of the way in which the migrant crisis in 2015 was dealt with, leading to increased numbers of people with migrant backgrounds in Europe, whereas Against Borders is critical of the ways in which attempts to control migration have been made, such as detention centres, deportation, and restrictions to citizenship. The nation-state itself is seen as at the core of these practices that impede movement. Both books offer relevant observations about the shortcomings of European migration politics, albeit from opposite ends.