Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Globalization has been a buzzword in various circles especially the last thirty years. While the fall of the Soviet Union signaled a new era, with the rise of the USA and its values, gradually the idea of the “Rise of the Rest” with emerging countries taking the lead, has gained momentum. Parallel to this, Europe as a part of the Western world has faced several economic crisis and a massive influx of migrants arriving from the East. Especially after 2014 due to the Syrian Civil War, Europe has been a heated area. Most likely the island of Lesvos from 2014 until hitherto hosts multiple refugee camps. Policy makers and the media have been focusing on the migrants themselves, with a great disregard to the host community. An analysis of the host communities and how they tackle this new reality can be enlightening and is the base for discussion for a relatively rising existence of racism and nationalism in Europe; which is subsequently accompanied with the rise of populism in the continent. Populist parties tend to attack globalization claiming it to be a danger to the security of the sovereign states and their national interests. The method for this research is interviews to locals of Lesvos and theory on host communities. Various conversations concerning the clashes between nationalities are blamed to be a result of globalization and its reckless values. This discussion considers how, thirty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the world order seems to be revised.