onds, the Europe of today, symbolic of both cultural preservation and continued innovation, will be in grave peril.
The migration crisis is only the surface of other deep-seated issues that are now coming to fruition in Europe. The mass migration has proven to be the ideal time for the far-right parties to make their final push, build upon, and strengthen their base. The migrant crises notwithstanding, this accumulated animosity points towards the centrality of European governance. For many, the culpability of the current issues resides in Brussels, the defacto capital of the European Parliament. Those in charge are accused of being aloof, and their policies are reflective of their disconnect with all of the European countries that bear the burden of the migrant crises.
Perhaps in the not-so-distant future, the migrant crises can pose a deeper problem: the dissolution of a unified Europe. In times of economic, social, or political crisis, reactionary politics becomes the colloquial, making the rise of a fringe candidate realizable. If we have learned anything in the past 80 years, it is that once we are driven by fear and skepticism, we make rash, presumptuous decisions that benefit only those who extol radical policies.
While it is true that the European governments have an obligation to preserve their individual cultures, they must do so while remaining open and unbiased. Let’s hope that the seemingly implacable momentum of today’s reactionary politicians will, in fact, be short lived. Europe has come too far to fall back to its seemingly contradictory reticence and brashness.