From Division to European Rapprochement this violence continues to this day. Jihadists from al-Qaeda and Islamic State have used the power vacuum in the wake of collapsing governments to expand their rule and organise terrorist attacks across the globe. Millions of people have been displaced. To this day, there are huge refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The number of refugees significantly increased once more in 2015 as a result of the war in A SYRIAN REFUGEE TAKING A SELFIE WITH GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL. Berlin (Germany), 10.09.2015 The phrase ‘We can do it!’ produced both acclaim and criticism. 2015 saw a historical record of 476,649 claims for asylum (both first-time applications and follow-ups). At the time, large sections of German society were prepared to support refugees. Whether the country could indeed successfully take in so many people – and if so, how – was a question that ruled many a public debate. Syria. The journey across the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats repeatedly ended in shipwreck and produced high numbers of casualties. That same year, the support for refugees travelling along the Balkan route sank to catastrophically low levels because Hungary had largely sealed off its borders. In September 2015, the humanitarian situation for refugees at Budapest’s Keleti railway station became so critical that hundreds embarked on foot along the motorway towards Austria in an effort to reach Germany. On the night of 4th September 2015, after consulting with her Austrian counterpart Werner Faymann, German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided not to use force to stop people crossing the border into Germany but instead to grant them entry. Merkel had already explained her stance at a national press conference on 31st August 2015: ‘I’ll put it quite simply: Germany is a strong country. The intent with which
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