A normative power on climate refugees?An analysis of the discourse and policy development on climate refugees of the European Commission

Abstract

Climate change poses a severe challenge to people and growing numbers of people flee from floods, rising sea levels and more intense hurricanes. So far, no international actor has taken up the challenge to promote a formal commitment to the human rights of climate refugees. Normative powers are actors who foster international commitment to the norms they promote. Within the European Union, the European Commission is the actor who pushes for new policy focuses. The aim of this research is to analyze how the notion ‘normative power’ can explain the discourse and policy implementation of the European Commission. The norm, which governs the treatment of refugees, is hospitality. Three different discourses on hospitality, the discourse on hospitality in liberalism, critical and liberal cosmopolitanism are discussed and the hospitality approach in liberal cosmopolitanism is assigned to serve as an indicator of a normative power on climate refugees. Key characteristics of the discourse on hospitality in liberal cosmopolitanism are the favoring of multiculturalism, granting of great freedoms to the refugee and a prioritization of hospitality over national economic and geopolitical interests. The analysis suggests that the European Commission is highly active in humanitarian aid on refugees – also on refugees who flee from climate and environmental change. The European Commission seems to prioritize integration of the refugees into local host communities over multiculturalism and takes into account national economic and geopolitical interests of the host countries. This means the European Commission cannot be identified as a normative power on climate refugees. Yet the application of the notion ‘normative power’ to the hot topic of climate refugees suggest that the European Commission, once it is agreed on a European definition of climate refugees is in an excellent position to promote the protection of climate refugees as global and local humanitarian aid and developmental support networks are already established.