A Contested Crisis: Policy Narratives and Empirical Evidence on Border Deaths in the Mediterranean

Death and suffering of migrants at Europe’s Mediterranean Sea border has become one of the defining moral and political issues of our time. While humanitarian organizations argue that deaths result from Europe’s policy of exclusion and closure, those employing a deterrence-oriented narrative have argued for even stricter border controls. Perhaps because of its contentious nature, the debate is often devoid of systematic information on the drivers and dynamics of border deaths. This study contributes to our understanding of border deaths in the Mediterranean region in three ways: it describes and evaluates recent data sources on migration and mortality; it provides a descriptive statistical analysis of absolute and relative mortality risks between 2010 and 2016; and it assesses the relationship between European border policy and border deaths. Our findings challenge the dominant deterrence-oriented policy narrative and highlight the failure of European authorities to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis

Introduction : solidarities in motion : hybridity and change in migrant support practices

The so-called ‘Eurozone’ and ‘migration’ crises mark critical moments in Europe’s recent political history and share similarities to the extent that they both have increased political conflict, mobilised large parts of civil society, and put renewed attention upon the notion of ‘solidarity’. Focusing on the specific case of solidarity with migrants, this articles argues that times of crises have increasingly blurred the lines between contentious and non-contentious forms of civil society engagement. Scrutinising these dynamics of hybridisation, we bridge diverse, yet largely disconnected literatures, including social movement, civil society and humanitarian studies. In particular, we suggest that the disciplinary and analytical distinction between volunteering and non-profit activities on the one hand and social movements and political activism on the other is too rigid and does obscure parts of a complex phenomenon, which is characterised by activities that often intersect between humanitarian practices and contentious politics

Opportunities and incentives for Remanufacturing in the Basque Country

Remanufacturing is a business model that helps the development of the circular economy. There are numerous successful examples of remanufactured products in different industrial sectors of Europe and US. Obtaining the maximum benefit of remanufacturing is related to the client recognizing the value of his assets at the end of its life, and that the manufacturer makes products that have the functionality and durability required. These aspects, can be improved if the remanufactured products are converted into a product-service systems (PSS). The objective of this research is to identify the opportunities, challenges, drivers and barriers for the development of remanufacturing activities in the main industrial sectors of the Basque Country. The research team has analysed 890 industrial companies, of which 197 companies have been identified the potential to development their remanufacturing process. After that, in order to know the reality of the different industrial sectors of the Basque Country, the research team developed a questionnaire oriented to the companies with the highest remanufacturing potential. In addition, they interviewed the industrial managers and directors of innovation of the 18 leading industrial companies in the Basque Country. The research team estimated that the remanufacturing process in the Basque Country is an emerging activity with great potential for development for 2025. The initial sales estimate for the five priority sectors analysed in 2016 is 63.6 million euros, and for 2025 is 163 million. According to the interviews, the main motivations that companies have for remanufacturing are strategic advantage and differentiation, high product value and high durability of the product. The main barriers identified are access to products, the resulting quality and market valuation