Politiske asylsøgere – ramt af flygtningepolitikkens malstrøm

Time: Tuesday 19th October at 14 – 16 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, ground floor, Strandgade 71, Christianshavn, 1401 Kbn K

Time: Tuesday 19th October at 14 – 16 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, ground floor, Strandgade 71, Christianshavn, 1401 Kbn K

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.

Speakers

* Carol Bohmer, Visiting Associate Professor, Dartmouth College, USA
* Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Project Researcher, DIIS

PROGRAMME

14.00-14.10
Introduction by Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Project Researcher, DIIS

14.10-14.55
Political Asylum in the 21st Century: Perspectives From the United States and the United Kingdom by Carol Bohmer, Visiting Associate Professor, Dartmouth College, USA

14.55-15.10
Coffee Break

15.10-15.30
Three Dilemmas in Danish Asylum Policy by Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Project Researcher, DIIS

15.30-16.00
Open Discussion

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form on http://www.diis.dk/sw100278.asp

And do no later than Monday, 18 October 2010 at 12.00 noon.

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.

Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), The Conference Section, Strandgade 56, 1401 Kbn K, tlf. 32 69 87 51, e-mail: [email protected] og web: www.diis.dk