Migration and mimetism

Abstract

The purpose of this study is not to examine the legal
aspects of migration or to cover the field of security policy, but
the general theoretical examination of the topic of migration
regarding the issue of the origin of conflicts, as well as of the topic
of violence and religion. Concerning the realm of religious study, I
intend to argue in favor of a viewpoint that religious difference, as a
civilization or culture line or gap, does not constitute in itself a direct
cause of violence. Regarding international migration, I claim that
the origin of the conflicts is much more rooted in global rivalry than
in religious or other cultural differences. In my view, the classical
theories of migration fail to grasp the essential cause of conflicts.
This is because these concepts generally explain migration by purely
economic factors regardless of human desire and violence. In my
opinion, René Girard’s concept of mimetic desire might be a useful
approach to analyze the issue of migration, because it focuses on
the human factor and Girard enlights the systematic relationship
between violence and desire. Based on Girard’s concept of mimesis,
I attempt to outline a particular and plausible framework of
interpretation regarding the relationship between the motivational
background of migration and the development of conflicts. As a
result of this study, I can claim that the mimetic theory can provide
a significant additive and perspective to the research on migration,
both in terms of possible aspects of data collection and in terms of
secondary analysis of data or interpretation.