Research Methods for IR: Identifying EU Responses to Migrant Crisis

This report investigates the European Union's responses to the migrant and refugee crisis, which surged in 2015-2016, creating significant tension within the EU and among its member states. The research aims to understand the EU's actions from an international relations perspective, focusing on the lack of a unified migration policy and the resulting divisions among member states. The methodology involves qualitative research, including participant observation and interviews with EU parliament members, alongside interpretivism and an inductive research approach. The report justifies its methodological choices, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative methods, and addresses ethical considerations to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the research. The findings are supported by references to academic articles and online sources, providing a comprehensive analysis of the crisis and the EU's attempts to manage it.

RESEARCH METHODS
FOR INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Outlining the situation.................................................................................................................1
EXPLAINING RESEARCH STUDY.............................................................................................2
Rationale of this study.................................................................................................................2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................2
Discussing which qualitative method to be used for this study..................................................2
Discussing justification with advantages and disadvantages of each methodological decision. 3
Ethical consideration...................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

Research title: “ to identify the EU responses to the migrant and refugee crisis.”
Outlining the situation
The irregular and unexpected flow of thousands of migrants into Europe during the year
2015 and 2016. This condition has brought a transactional crisis in European union and which is
not managed till now. However, it is true that now more people are moving than before infect
every minute, 20 people gets displaced over the world and among them half were the children.
According to UN, it is analysed that by the end of 2015 there are more than a million of refugee
who generally has crossed into Europe. This is situation has brought a long standing tension
between EU institutions and member states (Migrant crisis: EU summit divided amid migration
row, 2018). In accordance with the words of commission's Vice-president it is analysed that this
is the most complex, structural phenomena which country is going through and such issue has
mainly soured relation in 28-countries of European Union. This is the result of civil wars,
environmental causes and globalisation.
It is all started with the year 2013 where Europe has begun to experience mixed
migratory pressure which reach at its peak level during the year 2015. From such year it is been
analysed that it is evolving into wide-spread refugee crisis which mainly driven conflict and
power in the Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and South Asia. Further, in 2015, such migration
crisis gets high on agenda of EU when country has witnessed the largest influx with more than
1.5 million refugees crossing their border (Niemann and Zaun, 2018). In order to tackle such
situation, Brussels tried with proposing various types of initiatives but such proven as highly
unsuccessful. The major cause which had been analysed with the inability of EU for acting
effectively was a lack of coherent and common migration asylum policy which is now
considered as national sovereignty concern. This is the biggest challenge which EU is facing up
till today and will now also not able to find solution regarding such situation.
The reason which dominating their policy making is the lack of mutual solidarity in the
actions of member of states. However, due to continuous and uncontrollable flows of migratory
it is determined that grave divisions had started to emerge between the member of states which is
creating a conflict position within EU. In regards with all this situation the most affected
countries are Greece and Italy because of large number of refugees picked by the year 2015.
Such impact has analysed in such countries because of lack of support which needed from
another member of the states. In order to seek a solution of such crisis, EU presented mandatory
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relocation quote for refugees where it is been determined that during the year 2015, council has
adopted two major decision for 160,000 asylum seekers to relocate them from Greece and Italy
to other member states till September 2017. Thus, it is clearly analysed that no country will carry
such burden of crisis all alone because of which member states needs to find coherent approach
for settling such huge crisis situation.
EXPLAINING RESEARCH STUDY
Rationale of this study
The fundamental reason behind selection of this research study is to analyse responses
develop by EU for crisis related to migrant and refugee. The reason behind selection of this study
is to analyse how EU responses to such huge crisis from the perspective of international relations
(Holmes and Castañeda, 2016). However, previously thousands of studies have been conducted
regarding EU crisis but this topic is far from the being exhausted in the field of research area.
Specifically, new studies can be conducted on the area of responses which has taken by EU from
the perspective of its international relations. Practical implication of this research relates to
assisting strategy of EU aiming for solving huge crisis to migrant refugee.
However, another fundamental reason behind selection of this study is to create
professional development in academic career. This study will help in achieving long-term career
aspiration which is also in detailed manner (Silverman, 2016). Further, this study also helps in
eliminating the gap of writing literature review and to improve the academic career in developing
efficient research study upon which other existing market researcher will also able to relay.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Discussing which qualitative method to be used for this study
In this research report, both primary and secondary data collection technique will be used
where in order to develop the appropriateness of study researcher will conduct participant
observation or process of interview. This is the type of data collection method which generally
used in qualitative research for analysing the practises through intensive involvement of people
over a specific time period (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault, 2015). However, other than this,
interpretivism research philosophy will also be selected by researcher for interpreting the
elements of study. In order to develop better explanation of theories and to conduct efficient
observation study, inductive research approach will be selected by researcher. It is a type of
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study under which no hypotheses would apply and researcher will be free in terms of altering and
directing the study efficiently. Other than this, non-probabilistic research study will be selected
by researcher where sample are gathered in a process where population did not have equal
chances of being selected. Here, sample will be collected from parliament members of the EU
through interview questions.
Discussing justification with advantages and disadvantages of each methodological decision
This first and foremost justification of this research study is that reliability of content will
be presented in this report where article “Europe's Responses to the Migration Crisis” article
have been selected (Park, 2015). Under this article, proper qualitative material has been
mentioned by author where from the year 2014 to up-till now information has mentioned. Other
than this, second source has been selected from article “Refugees, migrants, neither both:
categorical fetishism and the politics of bounding in Europe's migration crisis” under which
author has propounded the whole secondary information in more descriptive way (Crawley and
Skleparis, 2018). The third article which has been selected for developing the efficiency of work
is “Crisis, routine, consolidation: The politics of the Mediterranean migration crisis” where
author has propounded description of this crisis in the perspective of international relations
through which accuracy of work will get developed (Jeandesboz and Pallister-Wilkins, 2016).
Justification in regards with chosen qualitative research is that this research study helps in
developing depth study with the use of range of techniques whose aim is to understand why
people think, feel. Behave and react for the way they do. Major advantages of conducting this
type of research is that sample tends to be small through proper concept, strategies of the aim
will get evaluated (Brannen, 2017). Other benefit of this technique is that scholar does not start it
with the hypotheses which needs to be proved. Rather than this, it is an open ended approach
which can be changed if researcher wants to change in his/her ongoing research. Interview is
considered as the far most common qualitative method which generally involve a depth
exploration of thoughts and feelings of people.
The major disadvantage of this research is that it is highly subjective because of which
everyone will not get relay (Bell, Bryman and Harley, 2018). It is because some researcher only
want reliability and accuracy of the study which can only be proved with the use of quantitative
research technique. Another problem with this type of research study is data rigidity which is
more difficult to assess and demonstrate.
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Ethical consideration
During the process of conducing research study due diligence and care has been taken by
the researcher in more appropriate way. In order to address and issue the considerations'
researcher has taken care of all the ethical and suitable guidelines by which information which
will present in report will not be interpreted in wrong way. In order to expand appropriate study,
proper aims and objective is created by the researcher which will mainly help in supporting the
collaborative of the work (LaRossa and Bennett, 2018). Participants in this work are not be
harmed in any way and proper respect of dignity firstly prioritised for them by the scholar during
research work. In order to develop interview process, full consent has been obtained from
participants. Proper privacy of research participant is been ensured by the researcher in order to
present adequate level of the confidentiality in research data which has been gathered by the
scholar.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bell, E., Bryman, A. and Harley, B., 2018. Business research methods. Oxford university press.
Brannen, J., 2017. Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. Routledge.
Crawley, H. and Skleparis, D., 2018. Refugees, migrants, neither, both: categorical fetishism and
the politics of bounding in Europe’s ‘migration crisis’. Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies. 44(1). pp.48-64.
Holmes, S.M. and Castañeda, H., 2016. Representing the “European refugee crisis” in Germany
and beyond: Deservingness and difference, life and death. American Ethnologist. 43(1).
pp.12-24.
Jeandesboz, J. and Pallister-Wilkins, P., 2016. Crisis, routine, consolidation: The politics of the
Mediterranean migration crisis. Mediterranean Politics. 21(2). pp.316-320.
LaRossa, R. and Bennett, L.A., 2018. Ethical dilemmas in qualitative family research. In The
psychosocial interior of the family (pp. 139-156). Routledge.
Niemann, A. and Zaun, N., 2018. EU refugee policies and politics in times of crisis: theoretical
and empirical perspectives. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 56(1). pp.3-22.
Park, J., 2015. Europe’s migration crisis. New York: Council of Foreign Relations. pp.311-325.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A
guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Online
Migrant crisis: EU summit divided amid migration row. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44633606>
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