Romy van Baarsen examines how violence at Europe’s borders is becoming normalised and the impact on the rule of law when protection becomes conditional and violence is bureaucratised.
In her role as a journalist, she investigates how institutions such as Frontex and EU Member States, as well as policy frameworks, shape a complex system in which responsibility becomes blurred. This book project combines fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis with philosophical reflection and a literary narrative style.
At the heart of the work lie moral questions: who is responsible, and what becomes of our democratic values when fundamental principles such as non-refoulement , the prohibition of returning asylum seekers or refugees to a country where their life or freedom would be at serious risk, come under pressure?
