Spain and the European migration crisis

The article analyses the characteristics of Spain as a country of mass immigration at the turn of the 20th to 21st centuries. Among the majority of other European countries that host numerous ‘labor' immigrants and refugees, Spanish society stands out for its high level of loyalty and solidarity towards visitors. Its positive attitude that has remained unchanged for the past decades seems unusual and peculiar to many researchers because it contradicts a number of objective factors and circumstances. For example, Spain had known no mass immigration until the end of the 20th century. In addition, there exists the impact of longstanding traditions, both secular and religious, that have contributed to the separation from representatives of other cultures and religions. Further, Spain has been experiencing a sharp decline in living standards since the economic crisis of 2008, which led to increased hostility towards immigrants in other countries. Other factors include some people's dissatisfaction with the current situation and their reluctance to having immigrants as their neighbours, as well as the bloody attacks committed here by Islamic terrorists, etc. Building on Spanish colleagues' research, as well as the Spanish media and his own field observations, the author considers Spain's predominantly positive attitude to mass immigration as determined by the new ideology that is currently in place. This ideology and the high degree of its public influence are the result of some unique events in the development of Spain, which brought about the country's transition from one historic era to another.

Keywords

Authors

References