In her paper, Fabia Betschart highlights the environmental risks posed by abandoned yachts seized from sanctioned Russian owners since 2022. She finds major gaps in EU environmental law, which offers limited tools to address pollution from these frozen vessels and leaves liability unclear. Betschart, drawing on her background in European global studies and legal analysis, calls for clearer rules to better align sanctions policy with core environmental principles.

Niamh O’Neill examines how social science and law construct and interpret categories in armed conflicts in fundamentally different ways. By contrasting fluid political labels like “terrorist” or “freedom fighter” with the strict legal categories of international humanitarian law, she highlights tensions between discourse and doctrine and argues for a more reflexive, interdisciplinary approach to understanding how such meanings are created.

Finally, Giulia Schneitter analyses Switzerland’s role in Frontex amid allegations of pushbacks that violate the non-refoulement principle. She shows that Switzerland’s legal obligations and its ethical responsibilities diverge sharply and argues that the country should push for human rights safeguards within Frontex, including withholding support until reforms are implemented, to reconcile its humanitarian self-image with its involvement in the agency.

About the contributors and editors

The authors completed the MA European Global Studies at the Institute for European Global Studies in 2024. Fabia Betschart now works as a Customer Success Representative at oxygen at work, a research based company for sustainable workplace design. After working at the Embassy of Switzerland in Maputo,  Mozambique, Niamh O’Neill returned to the Institute for European Global Studies to  begin  her  doctoral studies. During her studies, Giulia Schneitter worked for the Green Party of Switzerland, advancing from intern to Head of Communication and Campaigns, where she led strategic messaging, coordinated national campaigns, and managed public engagement initiatives.

The issue of the e-journal has been edited by Paul Blickle, Academic Staff at the Institute of European Global Studies, under guidance of Prof. Dr. Corey Ross, Director of the Institute for European Global Studies.

About the E-Journal

Global Europe – Basel Papers on Europe in a Global Perspective is an academic e-journal showcasing the excellent research of graduates as well as other young and senior scholars interested in analyzing Europe and the EU in a global context.

The journal is published up to two issues per year. The publications are available as PDF-files via the open access platform of the University Library Basel as well as in the e-journal's archive on this site. In addition, readers can subscribe to it by sending an e-mail to europa@unibas.ch.