Denmarks Aliens Act and the issue of refugee protection: Case study of Bill L 226, a legislative amendment allowing for the transfer of asylum seekers outside the EU and the externalisation of asylum procedures and refugee protection
Translated title
Denmarks Aliens Act and the issue of refugee protection
Author
Lezanski-Larsen, Michal Maciej
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-10-15
Pages
57
Abstract
I de senere år har den danske regering under Mette Frederiksen og Socialdemokratiet strammet migrationspolitikken. Et centralt tiltag, lovforslag L 226, ville give mulighed for at overføre asylansøgere til et tredjeland uden for EU. Beslutningen udløste international kritik, hvor flere mente, at den kunne være i strid med internationale aftaler om beskyttelse af flygtninge. Afhandlingen er et beskrivende casestudie af L 226. Den bruger Carol Bacchis tilgang “What’s the problem represented to be?” (WPR), som undersøger, hvordan politikker definerer det problem, de vil løse, samt begreber fra Global Public Policy og Global Refugee Policy, der ser på politiske beslutninger og flygtningestyring på tværs af grænser. Undersøgelsen konkluderer, at L 226 præsenterede asylansøgere som et problem, der skulle håndteres gennem eksternalisering—altså at flytte ansvar og overførsler til lande uden for Danmark—men at denne politik ikke blev realiseret. Samtidig peger enkelte tegn på, at eksternaliseringsstrategier kan få mere politisk opbakning fremover, og at regeringen ikke har ændret kurs i udlændinge- og migrationspolitikken.
In recent years, Denmark under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the Social Democrats has tightened migration policy. One key initiative, Bill L 226, would allow Denmark to transfer asylum seekers to a third country outside the EU. This move drew international criticism, with opponents arguing it could conflict with international agreements on refugee protection. The thesis presents a descriptive case study of L 226. It applies Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the problem represented to be?” (WPR) approach—which examines how policies define the problems they aim to solve—and draws on concepts from Global Public Policy and Global Refugee Policy, which consider cross-border policy-making and refugee governance. The study concludes that L 226 framed asylum seekers as a problem to be managed through externalisation—shifting responsibility and transfers to countries outside Denmark—but the policy did not materialize. It also notes signs that externalisation strategies may gain more political support in the future, and that the Danish government has not changed course on immigration and migration policy.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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