By DOV SEGAL
In 2009 Margot Wallström wrote an article for the Huffington Post with the title, "Women We Need: Towards a More Female-centred Foreign Policy."In her article she argued that (important) women (like her) should play a bigger role in conflict management, policy-making and peace-making processes.The major reasons for this upgrading of the "female perspective and experience" were that women are the most vulnerable group and "eighty percent of the world's refugees are women and children".As a result, women (unlike men) realize that security is a "wider concept, including environmental and poverty-related challenges to the individual's integrity".Now fast-forward to 2015 and the surge of refugees entering Europe. Angela Merkel and Margot Wallström have taken over foreign policy in Europe. Their "female perspective and experience" reigns supreme.What is the result? To start with, women and children are no longer 80% of the refugees. According to UN data, 69% are men, 18% are children and 13% are women.The percentage for children is relatively high because in 2015 there has been a surge in the number of "unaccompanied minors".In practice these are often young men without papers who say they are minors because they know it is harder to deport minors.What else have Ms Merkel and Ms Wallström accomplished? Deep divisions between and within EU countries. Possible destruction of Schengen. The EU is on the verge of collapse.A lot of this new policy will have to be reversed. According to EU vice-president Frans Timmermans, some 60% of the migrants will not be recognized as refugees.
Sweden has now stated that it expects to deport 80,000. The expulsions will "have to be done using specially chartered aircraft, given the large numbers, staggered over several years."What is Germany going to do? How is it going to deport 600,000 people (the 60% of Timmermans) and how long will that take?This foreign policy based on "female perspective and experience" is a complete and utter failure. Ms Merkel and Ms Wallström have proved that women can be just as incompetent as men.Incompetence is gender-neutral.