Displacement and the State: A Process Tracing analysis of shifts in refugee and asylum policy in France and Kenya.
Klepacki, Catherine A.
2016
- Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: UNHCR estimates that nearly 60 million people are currently displaced worldwide. Although over half of are internally displaced, this unprecedented degree of displacement has levied a significant strain on the international asylum and refugee system. State policy ... read moretrends since adoption of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees suggest a disconcerting shift from largely open asylum and refugee policies to those characterized by increased restrictions. Although scholars have widely considered the impacts of this shift on asylum seekers and refugees, state motivations for these changes in policy have received less attention. The intent of this investigation is to identify the most salient factors that influence state asylum and refugee policy in order to gain insight into future policy trends. Although states tend to assert security as the most significant driver of state policy, state behavior suggests that security may not be the primary factor influencing policy shifts in many situations.This investigation considers state motivations impacting asylum and refugee policy in France and Kenya through a process tracing analysis of shifts in policy over time. The analysis suggests that security concerns alone provide an insufficient explanation for the policies implemented by these states. Although security plays a role in policy decisions, political concerns rooted in international relations, domestic obligations, and bureaucratic capacity play a decisive role in overall policy outcomes. Ultimately, these political factors are likely to significantly influence how states address the growing challenging of balancing the needs of asylum-seekers and refugees with domestic obligations and state security issues. Following the analysis, recommendations for future policy policy considerations are offered.read less
- Refugees--Legal status, laws, etc.--Kenya.
- Forced migration--Kenya.
- Security, International--Kenya.
- Forced migration--France.
- Asylum, Right of--Kenya.
- Security, International--France.
- Migration, Internal--Kenya.
- Refugees--Legal status, laws, etc.--France.
- Migration, Internal--France.
- Asylum, Right of--France.
- ID:
- z316qc61q
- Component ID:
- tufts:sd.0000481
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