Robert Imre is an Associate Professor in Political Sciences at the University of the Faroe Islands. He holds university degrees from Queen´s University and University of Victoria in Canada and a PhD degree from the University of Queensland in Australia.
Robert Imre has spent many years as a researcher and lecturer in several countries around the world. He has worked as an academic at the University of Victoria in Canada, Tampere University in Finland, the University of Regensburg in Germany, the University of Newcastle in Australia, the University of Notre Dame in Australia and other universities in Australia and Hungary.
Robert Imre’s current interest of research is the comparative politics of small states. He is concerned with security policies, environmental and green politics, and is working on comparative civil defence projects dealing with how small states might think about their own changing civil defence needs including food security, environmental and economic security. He is also interested in Arctic security, Nordic and Baltic states politics, and small states in East Central and South East Europe.
Why did you decide to move to the Faroe Islands?
Moving to the Faroe Islands was an opportunity to live and work in a small state and in a region that is currently experiencing great political and social changes. It means a lot to be able to live in a small state context while thinking about what the secruity arrangements might look like in the future. In the Nordic or North Atlantic context there are many security concerns and great changes are happening.
Is it difficult to be integrated in the society as a foreigner?
I have moved many times to many places and as a true liberal pluralist, integration is the wrong question to ask. Humans are not ants, nor are they some kind of electronic hardware that must integrate or perish. It can be difficult of course, when there are specific assumptions and stereotypes about people moving around to different places but we all need to work on the acceptance of difference.
Demanding integration is not an acceptance of others and liberal pluralism has a great deal of focus on how mutual social acceptances occur in modern societies. Over the past couple of decades European states have become obsessed with the notion of integration and have mostly delivered an unexamined demand for migrants of all kinds, lumping all human movement into a singularity with some very negative consequences. I always have hope that we can create something more meaningful and peaceful in the acceptance of the other in our midst.
Has the language been a problem?
I have lived in several language contexts and some have been more difficult than others. I can get daily things done outside of the office quite easily here in the Faroes. Most of my research is done using other languages and not Faroese. So I can function relatively well so far.
But there is a general impatience with adults who migrate and do not speak a local language almost immediately. Of course, for me, I am teaching courses in English at a university, so in comparison it is much more difficult for other people in other areas of society. And I did not bring children and my spouse works elsewhere, so that level of stress is something I am not experiencing here in the Faroes. But I can imagine the difficulties involved in organising lives of children and family members when trying to work in a language spoken by a small number of people.
Did you bring your family with you to the Faroe Islands?
I have 2 grown children so they have their own lives and are attending universities in other countries and my wife has a permanent position at a university in Finland. So in that sense I do not have a young family that I bring with me that would experience the move to the Faroes.