Browsing by Author "Frongia, Federica"

The European Union’s current economic growth goals cannot be achieved without addressing the demographic and labour shortage crises. Despite the prevalence of anti-migration narratives, the leading approach to address the demographic issue has been to encourage “managed” entries. The Blue Card Directive (BCD) was introduced to attract talent and harmonize policy to regulate high skilled non-EU immigration across the Union. The first rendition of the BCD was introduced in 2009, however it was not successful and was rarely utilized across Member States (MS). Therefore, it was repealed and recast in 2021 and it is scheduled to enter into force in all MS by November 2023. This thesis employs Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem represented to be?” methodology, a Foucauldian constructivist theory to explore the discursive assumptions shaping the Blue Card Directive and how they may help explain its failures and shortcomings. Bacchi’s discursive policy analysis seeks to uncover how dominant discourses shape the perception of migration in policymaking. This study finds that the European Union's migration policy framework prioritizes the validation of all hegemonic migration discourses with the intention of maintaining cooperation between Member States. However, this very priority directly contrasts the goals of the policy, and often results in the neglect of related challenges of inequality and marginalization deemed “controversial”. The recast of the Blue Card Directive falls short of being sufficiently ambitious and transformative. Instead, it is indicative of the tendency towards "failing forward" of the EU, characterized by lack of willingness to compromise and coherence among Member States. Finally, this thesis puts forth a proposal for reframing the issue, encouraging departure from existing discursive and systemic frameworks to address the socio-environmental “permacrisis” in the European Union.