EU and US Asylum Policies in Comparative Perspective
Refugee migration affects governments and people in Europe and the United States of America to a different extent and in different ways. This is particularly obvious in the current refugee crisis. While 267,000 refugees were registered in the United States by the end of 2014, the EU-28 received 626,000 new asylum applications over the same time span. The procedures in place as well as the composition of the refugees by country of origin differ between Europe and USA. While Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Pakistan top the list of origin countries in Europe it is Burma, Iraq, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the USA. Both in the EU and the United States domestic politics, interests of stakeholders as well as foreign and security policy concerns influence the strategic position on refugee policy. A comparative view should highlight the differences and similarities and possibly contribute to a better governance and strategic policy development in Europe.
Manned Kohler . manfredkohler@hotmail.com
Democracy Centre Vienna
Currently applying for a 3-year research grant from the Jubiläumsfond of the Austrian Central Bank (ÖNB) on “Strategic Vision or Blindness: European and American Asylum Policies”; also participating in a EU Horizon 2020 research grant proposal with an international research cluster and ArchHumankind on religious extremism, since September 2015. Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs/Austrian Embassy Nairobi, September 2013 – 15 September 2015