Ignorance and Change: Anticipatory Knowledge and the European Refugee Crisis

Ignorance and Change examines the European refugee crisis of 2015–2016 through the lens of ignorance studies, highlighting how the media, decision-makers, and academics projected and reified the future in relation to the crisis, asylum system, and proposed solutions. It demonstrates how ignorance and projectivity were essential for new Member States to manage the crisis and achieve a higher level of autonomy in relation to the EU. The book challenges the dominant interest in defining ignorance and incorporates the concept of the future into ignorance studies, offering an erudite background, empirical research, and analytical tools for scholars and policymakers interested in crisis studies, public policy, ignorance studies, social theory, migration studies, and sociology of the future.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Ignorance and Change delves into the European refugee crisis of 2015-2016, shedding light on the role of ignorance studies in understanding how the media, decision-makers, and academics projected and reinforced the future in relation to the crisis, the asylum system, and proposed solutions. By examining the interplay between ignorance, projection, and reification, the book seeks to answer why recent crises often fail to bring about meaningful change. It challenges the notion that ignorance is merely a lack of knowledge and expertise and instead emphasizes how ignorance shapes our expectations and projections of what change should look like.

Drawing from comprehensive case studies in Poland, Hungary, and Romania, the book demonstrates how ignorance and projectivity played crucial roles in the new Member States' ability to manage the refugee crisis and achieve a higher level of autonomy within the EU. Through an innovative interactional approach to ignorance, the book bridges ignorance studies with sociology of the future and migration research. It introduces concepts such as "projective agency," "reification of the future," "projection by proxy," and "projectors of EU asylum policies."

Ignorance and Change offers an erudite background, comprehensive empirical research, and original analytical tools for graduate students, researchers, and policy makers interested in crisis studies, public policy, ignorance studies, social theory, migration studies, and sociology of the future. By exploring the dynamics of ignorance and its impact on shaping the future, the book provides valuable insights into the complexities of managing crises and fostering meaningful change.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367569228