Effectiveness of the European Union Investing in the Country of Origin

Conceptual and Methodological Chapter
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Conceptual and Methodological Chapter
Key Information
Research question
“What is the effectiveness of the European Union investing in the country of origin to reduce irregular migration?
Research Statement
This research aims at evaluating the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) on the country of origin as a strategy to reduce irregular migration. Taking the Republic of Cyprus as the case study, the investigation seeks to demonstrate the negative implications of irregular migrants to the EU member countries. In particular, the study will demonstrate whether investing in the country of origin is a viable option.
Research objectives
1 To establish the effectiveness of EU investing in the country of origin as a way of reducing irregular migrants
2 To determine the factors that force irregular migrants to leave their home countries and to the EU
3 To establish the factors that attract irregular immigrants to the EU
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for the study is guided by the concept of irregular migration and its root causes. The issue of irregular migration has become a major issue in the past few years, particularly in Europe, where the number of irregular migrants has increased sharply (Natter, 2015). Researchers trace the root causes of irregular migration to several factors including political stability, economic challenges, and abject poverty. Irregular migrants from fewer-income countries move to other countries, especially Europe to escape economic challenges in their home countries. However, restrictive policies in the countries of destination exist, which make it challenging for migrants to follow the laid down legal channels. As a result, migrants follow dangerous and illegal routes to access European countries, which significantly risks their lives (Kuschminder, Bresser and Siegel, 2015). In response to the problem of irregular migrants, the EU seeks ways to address the issue. A proposed solution is addressing the underlying factors in supporting development activities in the countries of origin (Clemens and Postel, 2018). However, the effectiveness of investing in the countries of origin to minimize irregular migration has been widely discussed. On the one hand, some see the approach as effective in addressing the root cause of irregular migration, since it empowers these countries to create opportunities for their people. On the contrary, some see investing in the countries of origin as ineffective and having the possibility of unintended outcomes like supporting repressive regimes.
The theoretical framework will be based on the theory of the push-pull model. The model summarizes the motivations for migration by considering how the relationship between two points (origin and destination) is affected by push factors and pulls factors (Urbański, 2022). Push factors at the point of origin serve to trigger immigration. For instance, political persecution, lack of economic activities, and natural disasters push people from their origin (Parkins, 2010). Pull factors attract people to the destination. These include the availability of economic activities, pollical freedom, a...