Advocating for Refugees in the European Union: Norm-Based Strategies by Civil Society Organizations

The crisis of forced displacement is compounded by the politicization of asylum and refugee protection, which have become polarizing issues in many countries in Europe and in the United States. It has animated efforts by pro-refugee civil society groups to engage in advocacy efforts that respond to the securitization of the issue, reframe it as a human rights and humanitarian issue, and bring about policies that are favorable to refugee protection. The contrasting points of view surrounding refugee and asylum policy reveal a fundamental normative difference in what is considered the most appropriate standard of behavior to guide actions and policies in the wake of the European refugee crisis. This normative difference, and the contestation that it entails, represents the starting point for this study of specific strategies of norm-based change. The study focuses on civil society organizations (CSOs) and the deliberate ways they incorporate and use norms in framing and responding to the issue of refugee protection. It seeks to understand and explain how and why pro-refugee advocacy groups choose to use specific norm-based strategies of advocacy in their effort to shift public opinion on the issues of asylum and refugee protection and ultimately bring about policy change.

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"What would a refugee policy look like that was not distorted by emotional and nationalist politics? In Advocating for Refugees in the European Union Schnyder and Shawki convincingly show that a norm-based approach could reshape immigration policy for the better." -- Reece Jones, University of Hawaii at Manoa

"Advocating for Refugees in the European Union is a meticulously researched analysis of the impact civil society organizations have in adopting normative re-framing relating to migrants, and in particular, refugees seeking protection in Europe. It clarifies admirably the confusing array of initiatives and the complex interactions of policy actors. Above all it highlights the primary paradox of the migration debate, namely, how to protect migrants but at the same time reconciling norms with the forces of nationalism and populism. A highly recommendable addition to the migration literature." -- Richard Lewis, Vrije Universteit Brussels --This text refers to the hardcover edition. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Schnyder is Associate Professor of International Relations at American Public University System. --This text refers to the hardcover edition. Read more Continue reading Read less