Martin Sellner aims to outline a political strategy for Europe’s future with Remigration. Yet what presents itself as an analysis quickly reveals itself as ideologically charged wishful thinking devoid of any real political substance. Instead of a thoughtful engagement with migration and society, Sellner delivers a collection of polemics, selective anecdotes, and historical distortions. The result is a book that not only fails argumentatively but also disturbingly exposes how little its author understands—or wants to understand—about the complexity of modern societies.
Sellner claims that “remigration” is a viable solution to social challenges. Yet even a cursory look at his reasoning exposes the absurdity of this idea. Who exactly is supposed to be “remigrated”? To where? According to what criteria? Who decides? What economic, social, and foreign policy consequences would such a plan entail? Sellner offers no serious answers to these fundamental questions—likely because none exist without resorting to massive human rights violations or political impossibilities. Instead, he retreats into vague insinuations, hoping his audience won’t ask too many questions.
Rather than relying on serious sociological or economic studies, Sellner juggles out-of-context statistics and alarmist claims. His historical arguments are, at best, selectively chosen and, at worst, outright distorted. Migration has been a constant factor in human history and, in many cases, a driver of economic and cultural progress—a fact Sellner conveniently ignores. The few numbers he does present serve not for analysis but for dramatization. Serious political science or economic perspectives are entirely absent, presumably because they would contradict his thesis.
Sellner’s approach follows a familiar pattern of right-wing populist rhetoric: he constructs threats, defines a clear enemy, and presents an apparently simple solution to an allegedly existential problem. This method may be effective in political campaigning, but as a serious contribution to debate, it is worthless. Political theory requires more than alarmism and resentment—it demands empirical grounding, nuance, and a connection to reality. Sellner’s book offers none of these.
Even more alarming than its intellectual shortcomings is the sheer detachment from reality underlying the entire concept. “Remigration” could only be enforced through massive state violence or not at all—a harsh truth Sellner evades with rhetorical contortions. In his portrayal, “remigration” is a kind of magical reset button that solves all societal problems without creating new ones. There is no evidence that his proposal would have any positive social or economic effects—quite the opposite. Yet such details seem of no interest to the author.
Remigration is not a serious political analysis but an agitational pamphlet that relies more on rhetorical wishful thinking than on reality. It is a book for those who prefer their world simple rather than complex and are willing to ignore facts in favor of ideology. Anyone genuinely interested in migration policy, social cohesion, or Europe’s future should turn to scholarly works. Sellner’s book, on the other hand, belongs in the category of intellectual failures—or, depending on one’s perspective, political fairy tales.