DIIS Seminar on Political Asylum in the 21st Century (19 October, Copenhagen)

DIIS (Danish Institute for International Studies) is holding a seminar on 19 October: Political Asylum in the 21st Century.

The seminar will be conducted by Carol Bohmer, Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Government at Dartmouth, and Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, DIIS Project Researcher, external lecturer in international refugee law at the University of Copenhagen, and author of the forthcoming book entitled “Access to Asylum: International Refugee Law and the Globalisation of Migration Control” (April 2011).

Description: Few issues have remained as politicized as asylum in the past few decades. Most nations recognize the moral and legal obligation to accept people fleeing from persecution, but political asylum applicants in the twenty-first century face restrictive policies and cumbersome procedures. Competing discourses of protection and control are predominant in present day asylum rhetoric. Governments need to address the conflicting needs of the state to protect their citizens from terrorists and the influx of hordes of unwelcome economic migrants, while at the same time adhering to their legal, moral and treaty obligations to provide safe haven for those fleeing persecution. Satisfying these conflicting goals at the same time may ultimately prove impossible, yet states continue to struggle to find ways to appear to meet both. How do they do it?  This seminar will attempt to answer that question and illustrate the sometimes absurd effects of this process. The seminar will further compare different policy approaches, notably the cases of the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Denmark.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Register online no later than Monday, 18 October 2010 at 12.00 noon.

Click here for more information.