Berita

The discussion took place at the Pascasarjana Building, 28^th of March 2016. The UMY – Jusuf Kalla School of Government has invited Prof. Dr. Cristoph Behrens together with the faculty and graduate students of Political Science to the discussion on the Syrian refugee crisis and German policies.

Dr. Behrens is the Director of the Center for Good Governance. He is a Governance and Educational Expert and deals with governmental and nongovernmental organizations for more than twenty years. He is based in Berlin, Germany and currently working on a project in Indonesia and at the same time teaches in Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta.

The discussion started with the understanding of the Syrian predicament and the role played by the European Union. Questions were asked on the policies adopted by the European Union member states as a response to the situation in Syria particularly the issues related to the German policies to which Dr. Bherens comprehensively talked about. He discussed some of the European policies and International Conventions and went on explaining the policies of the German government in addressing the problem in Syria. Dr. Behrens emphasized that the problem in Syria is complex as it involves domestic and foreign political interests. However, Dr. Behrens added that the German government is willing to invest vast resources towards sophisticated strategies in order to secure a sustainable solution of solving the conflict.  Dr. Behrens further explained that the government has already started the integration of the refugees into the German society with much consideration on the welfare and dignity of the refugees.

The discussion ended with the conclusion that the conflict in Syria is merely political which needs political solutions too and with the interdependence of states in the international community, the European Union particularly Germany, with its resilient and secured political and economic institutions can definitely intervene and make a change.