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Demography and migration
Zoltán Simon and Tamás Dezső Ziegler
Europes demographic decline is in the limelight of contemporary public debates
and is a major source of concern in a number of countries across the continent.
Some public intellectuals warn against a “collective suicide” of European societies
in the light of low birth rates and a rapidly ageing population. These dynamics also
feed into key policy challenges, such as a shrinking labour force in the European
economy, or the sustainability of existing public health and pension systems, but
may also create political tensions — between older and younger generations, for
instance - in the future. Moreover, they have negative implications on Europe's
posture in the global arena. A potential answer to shrinking and ageing societies
could be more openness towards immigration into Europe. Nevertheless, as
migration is closely intertwined with other highly sensitive topics, such as
identity, security, or social integration, it has also become a strongly emotional
matter in public debates, which is not only politicised but also instrumentalised
by some political actors. In the lack of a proper balance between these various
factors, migration has the potential to become a major source of disruptive
disintegration dynamics within the European Union and in European societies.
Keywords: demographic decline, ageing societies, immigration, Leitkultur,
politicisation
DEMOGRAPHY AND POLITICS
— Zoltan Simon! —
positions of the institution he is an official of.