European Refugee Crisis 2015, Multiculturalism, and Public Opinion in Member States

Abstract

‘Multiculturalism’ as we all know could be considered as one of the most popular political terms in modern society. The cultural diversity that comes with it was once celebrated as a positive meaning. Sadly, with the world’s current situation steering towards cultural isolation due to the uprising movement of worldwide terrorism, the word ‘multiculturalism’ and its blessing seems to be more and more of a burden than ever before. Not even the continent that once counts this value of diversity in culture as a foundation of its profound cultural heritage such as Europe can turn a blind eye to the threat which it entails. Moreover, with the current state of the European Union and its influx of refugees since 2015, the debate of whether the importance of security or humanity should hold reigns comes into question of the one responsible and all of Europeans’ citizens minds alike. Therefore, in this article, I will be studying the development of multiculturalism in Europe and some significant issues surrounding it and refugees, ranging from the public opinion towards public policy and security measures regarding the refugees, to the stigmatization against them.