How does the migration crisis explains the rise of populism in the Czech Republic?

Marliese Vollebregt wrote a blog about the perception of migration crisis in the Czech Republic. The migration crisis has been and still is a dominant issue within European politics. The European solution based on the solidarity principle was the refugee redistribution quota. In opposing to this plan, the V4 became a symbol of non-solidarity in Europe. The migration crisis exposed a clash of fundamental values in Europe. Particularly within the V4, it has often been politicized by European populist politicians to fuel a nationalistic populist agenda revolving around challenged national identities, welfare systems and security.

Thus, the nationalist populists have mainly framed the migration crisis as a threat to European security and European values.

The refusal to take in migrants is partly based in the history of the Central European region, which make them more focused on their own region and less on Europe as a whole[3]. The dark and painful history mainly refers to the periods that Central Europe has been ruled by others: The Austro-Hungarian Empire, then the Nazis, followed by Moscow. After regaining freedom and sovereignty, there is a strong defiance against being ruled by Brussels in the Czech Republic, irrespective of whether or not this is actually the case.

At the moment, being pro-European and pro-migration would be political suicide in the Czech Republic. Therefore, it is not in the interest of the populist politicians to solve the migration crisis soon, shamefully so given the fact that the Czech Republic could play a constructive and pivotal role in a united European solution to the migration crisis – if it wanted to.

Link to the full article.

Author: Marliese Vollebregt: Intern at the Embassy of the Netherlands in the Czech Republic & Student International Relations (MA) and Public Administration (MSc) at Leiden University (Netherlands).