When the Emergency Never Ends
About this episode
The episode explores the impact of Germany's ongoing internal border checks and the implications of governing through permanent emergencies.
Germany's internal border checks were supposed to be temporary. Introduced in 2015 as an emergency response, they've now become a familiar part of daily life across much of Europe. Reporter Sam Baker travels to Germany's borders with France and the Netherlands, where commuters sit in traffic, businesses absorb mounting costs, and local leaders question whether the checkpoints make anyone safer. Along the way, she meets journalist Sandra Alloush, whose experience at one of these border checks changed the way she moves through Europe, and explores why a policy that many acknowledge has significant limits continues to expand. The story raises a larger question: What happens when democracies begin governing through permanent emergencies? And what does it mean when extraordinary powers become ordinary? Guests: Wolfram Britz, Mayor of Kehl, Germany Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law and Society at Leiden University Sandra Alloush, journalist, filmmaker, and advocate for refugee rights Lucien van Ryswijk, Mayor of Zevenaar Raquel Garcia Hermida van der Walle, Member of the European Parliament Additional Resources: History of Schengen , European Commission Racial Profiling Practices…
People in this episode
Host: Sam Baker
Guests: Sandra Alloush, Wolfram Britz, Maartje van der Woude, Lucien van Ryswijk, Raquel Garcia Hermida van der Walle
Topics covered
- border checks
- emergency policies
- European Union
- commuting
- democracy
- security
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: European Commission, European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
Places: Germany, France, Netherlands, Kehl, Zevenaar
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