Civil and proxy wars in the Middle East and elsewhere recently led to an extraordinary increase in the number of people seeking refuge in Europe.

As a result, over the past weeks, we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of refugees arriving and attempting to enter Austria. This has sparked very varied political reactions on the one hand, and a wide range of practical efforts to help ease the situation on the other. In particular, volunteers and private initiatives, civil society organisations, the Austrian Federal Railways and the Austrian police, have taken extraordinary and admirable measures to help those refugees either travelling through or seeking asylum in Austria. This has been accompanied by a decisive increase in public attention on refugee issues, and by palpable shifts both in the public perception of refugees and the public discourse on constructive solutions in Austria. Furthermore, social media has enabled a different form of civil society engagement, and direct participation in the public political discourse, as well as documentation of the experiences of the refugees as they travel through Europe fleeing war. The new technology also enables them to easier connect with their families who are scattered in different countries, and with local civil society.

The present refugee situation is not unique in the history of Austria. Austria has since WWII welcomed many refugees of diverse origin, such as from Hungary in 1956, from what was then Czechoslovakia in 1968, and from Bosnia-Herzegovina, among others, in the 1990s.

The Austrian media landscape, however, is divided on the issue. Some voices claim that the present situation is fundamentally different, on account of many refugees being Muslim. They assert that Muslims supposedly pose a particular challenge in terms of integration. Conversely, others focus on the high level of education of, for example, many Syrian refugees, who are consequently seen as an asset to Austrian society.

ISA's research foci are of direct relevance to the debate on refugee issues in Europe.
Our institute specializes on themes such as globalisation, crisis and mobility, migration, neo-nationalism and orientalism in Europe. Many of ISA's specific research projects, such as on Yezidi refugees fleeing the war in Iraq, or on Bosnian communities in Austria today, deal directly with refugee issues. We support and personally engage in the many local-level initiatives and debates now being undertaken in Austria. As anthropologists, we also offer our professional expertise in analysing the larger picture from a historical and cultural comparative perspective.

ISA therefore seeks to contribute to knowledge exchanges on the current refugee situation in Europe, in order to foster dialogue between the Austrian Academy of Sciences, refugees, and interested parties.

We strongly support President Heinz Fischer’s words from the European Forum Alpbach 2015; “It is our moral obligation – and an investment in peace – to treat those refugees with dignity.”

Please check our homepage in the next weeks for an upcoming series of ISA events and initiatives on refugee issues