March 23, 2018
Eiko Thielemann, LSE
“Escaping Populism – Safeguarding Human Rights: Can the EU Rescue Refugee Protection in Europe?”
Contrary to earlier predictions, the greater role of the EU in the area of asylum policies has not led to an erosion of refugee rights. Instead, there is growing evidence that EU asylum harmonization has safeguarded existing standards and even enhanced the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Europe. Dr. Thielemann seeks to explain this by building on the insights of principal-agent theory. He argues that delegation to supranational institutions can strengthen non-majoritarian policy dynamics and shield EU policy-makers from populist pressures for further immigration restrictions that national governments are often confronted with. Dr. Thielemann supports this argument empirically through a systematic longitudinal analysis of the evolution of EU asylum policies. In particular, he assesses the motivation for and impact of greater delegation to EU institutions on rights developments for asylum-seekers and refugees. Dr. Theilemann also examines the ways in which EU policy-making has changed in response to the ‘Syrian refugee crisis’.
12:15-1:45pm
C.K. Choi, Room 120