Dr Eiko Thielemann

This course is available on the MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe, MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe (LSE & Columbia), MSc in Culture and Conflict in a Global Europe (LSE & Sciences Po), MSc in European and International Politics and Policy, MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Bocconi), MSc in European and International Politics and Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in European and International Public Policy (LSE and Bocconi), MSc in European and International Public Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Migration and Public Policy, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Economy of Europe, MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Fudan) and MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). In previous years we have been able to provide places for all students that apply but that may not continue to be the case.

A good knowledge of EU institutions and EU policy-making is required.

This course examines attempts to manage ‘unwanted migration’ to Europe.  In particular, it deals with the European Union’s governance of migratory flows such as asylum seekers and irregular migrants whose arrival states often seek to prevent or discourage.  As the willingness of sovereign states to advance global governance in the area of immigration policy remains low and unilateral national policy-responses are limited in their effectiveness, interest in regional governance initiatives has grown.  The European Union is usually viewed as the most advanced regional governance organisation that seeks to regulate, manage and control international migration flows. 

The course provides an in-depth treatment of the origins, evolution and major policy issues within asylum and immigration arena,  which has been the fastest growing EU policy area since the 1990s. The course will normally focus on the following three policy areas: (1) the emerging EU asylum and refugee determination system; (2) border management, detention and deportation; and (3) responsibility allocation (the ‘Dublin system’), burden-sharing and solidarity.

Students taking the course will learn how to systematically examine the origins and impact of EU policy instruments (as well as judgments by the European Courts).  After completion, students will have gained insights into evidence-based policy making and be able to answer questions such as: Why, despite sovereignty concerns, have Member States dramatically intensified cooperation on asylum and immigration issues? What is the relationship between national asylum & immigration policies, international human rights instruments and EU law? Given the influence of the EU’s supranational institutions, do the Member States still effectively control policies on asylum and immigration? Has EU policy-making lead to a convergence of policies at the “lowest common denominator” or has EU governance lead to higher human rights standards in the Member States? 

For their assessment, students will have the opportunity to develop a policy case-study, allowing them to apply the analytical skills developed in this course to analyse a specific EU asylum/immigration policy of their choice.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars totalling a minimum of 25 hours across Winter Term.  This course includes a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

A prospectus for the assessed research project (policy case study).

Geddes A et al. (2020) Migration and Mobility in the European Union, Palgrave/Macmillan;

Zaun N. (2019) EU Asylum Policies: The Power of Strong Regulating States, Palgrave;

Milazzo, E. (2023) Refugee Protection and Solidarity, Oxford;

Thym, D (2023), European Migration Law, Oxford;

Chetail V. and P. De Bruycker (2016) (eds.), Reforming the Common European Asylum System: The New European Refugee Law, Brill;

Geddes A. (2008) Immigration and European integration: Towards Fortress Europe, Manchester;

Thielemann E R (ed.) (2003) "European Burden-Sharing and Forced Migration", special issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol.16, No.3.

Project (100%, 5000 words) in the ST.

The summative assessment takes the form of a research project (policy case study).