neumann-theappealofcivil-2020.pdf (249.46 kB)
The Appeal of Civil Disobedience in the Central Mediterranean
The European responses to irregularised migrants in the second decade of the twenty-first century have been qualitatively new not so much because of the often-celebrated cultures of hospitality in countries such as Germany and Sweden, but because of acts of solidarity that have challenged the prerogative of nation-states to control access to their territory. I discuss elements of the public response in Germany to the criminalisation of one such act, the search and rescue (SAR) operation of the Sea-Watch 3 in the Central Mediterranean in June 2019, which led to the arrest of the ship’s captain, Carola Rackete, by Italian authorities. I argue that while the response to Rackete’s arrest was unprecedented, it built upon a year-long campaign in support of private SAR missions in the Mediterranean, which drew on the discourse of rights and was therefore not reliant on a short-term outpouring of compassion. Rackete’s supporters have also been energised by alternative visions of Europe, and by the vitriol reserved for her by followers of the populist far right.
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Journal of Humanitarian AffairsVolume
2Issue
1Pagination
53 - 61Publisher
Manchester University PressLocation
Manchester, Eng.Publisher DOI
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2515-6411Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
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