Ethical Dilemmas in Refugee Integration: Navigating Between Humanitarian Obligations and National Interests: A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Denmark (2015-2020)

Carrilho, Maria Raimundo

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2025

2025-06-01

79 pages

This thesis investigates how ethical principles shape refugee integration policies, with a focus on the tension between universal humanitarian obligations and national interests. Employing a comparative and thematic case study approach, this thesis analyses the asylum and integration policies of Denmark and Germany in response to the 2015 ‘’refugee crisis’’. The study systematically examines secondary data, including national legislation, academic literature and key political speeches from each country to identify recurring themes and patterns that reflect the ethical dilemmas within each country’s refugee policy framework. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Per Bauhn’s ethical particularism, Catherine Dauvergne’s theory of sovereignty and Ernesto Laclau’s discourse theory, the study explores how states justify restrictive policies while maintaining claims to moral legitimacy. The analysis reveals that both Denmark and Germany invoke ethical particularist reasoning to prioritise national interests - such as political stability, economic sustainability and social cohesion - over broader humanitarian commitments. Denmark follows a consistent trajectory of deterrence and limited inclusion, grounded in a long-standing political consensus. Germany initially embraced a universalist approach but shifted toward conditional protection in response to domestic political pressures and the rise of far-right movements. This thesis further demonstrates how ethical concepts like solidarity and responsibility are redefined through political discourse to align with national agendas. Migration law emerges as a key domain for the reassertion of state sovereignty, allowing governments to manage refugee inclusion on their own terms. Ultimately, the study argues that states do not abandon ethical reasoning but adapt it through the lens of particularism, thereby limiting the scope of humanitarian protection. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas at the heart of contemporary asylum governance and highlights the challenges of upholding universal ethical principles in an era of growing national prioritisation.

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