Evidence-Based Assessment of Readiness to Solve Wicked Problems: The Case of Migration Crisis in Croatia and Slovenia

Abstract

The migration crisis was and, in some aspects, still is one of the biggest challenges that the European Union (EU) has faced recently. In the crisis peak in 2015/16, most of its member states were affected in different ways. This paper contributes to the ex-post dialog of this transboundary crisis and attempts to present the level of readiness to solve wicked problems and manage a transboundary crisis, looking at the perspective of two countries—Slovenia and Croatia. The paper focuses on the following areas of migration governance: (1) border management, (2) reception policies, (3) migrant protection regimes, and (4) national security, which represented the main issues for transit countries and are embedded in the capacity assessing tool Survey Tool used in the paper. With its set of questions and using a multiple case studies methodology and comparative analysis, the paper’s results show the rather immature level of mass migration capacities at both transit levels studied. In the absence of migration crisis studies, the proposed paper retains its originality and adds value, especially in multi-level systems, in assessing the complexity of the crisis from a national perspective and providing the numerical assessment of crisis management capacity.

State borders stability formation on the conditions of response to migration crises on the example of Ukraine

“…We fully agree with (Rijavec, Štambuk and Pevcin, 2021) that complex problems are generally difficult to clearly define, they are socially complex, and cannot be solved unequivocally. They have many interrelated instabilities and are often caused by a number of causes (multicausal).…”

“…Thus, Rijavec et al (2021) investigated the anti-crisis measures carried out on the migration route of the Western Balkans, Croatia and Slovenia. McMahon, Sigona, (2020) based on 500 semi-structured interviews with people who crossed the Mediterranean by boat between 2014-2016 and more than 100 interviews with key interested parties in the region, documented the geography of migrant deaths as well as their impact on policy-making and public response to this migration crisis.…”