Entangled Asylum in the Nordic Region - (Global Migration and Social Change) by Sarah Scott Ford (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

What happens when human rights norms and law collide with the complexities of asylum decision-making?

This book offers a bold examination of how institutional dynamics and human rights oversight shape the intricate mechanisms behind asylum adjudication. By framing asylum law as an 'entangled regime, ' the author uncovers how national decision-makers interpret, apply and contest norms of national, international and institutional origin, offering invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of migrants' rights.

Through a socio-legal lens, it focuses on the Nordic countries--a region renowned for its policy experimentation and increasingly marked by anti-immigrant politics.

Against this politically charged backdrop, where a history of compliance results in a robust rights-focused legal framework, international law faces some of its most rigorous challenges.

Review Quotes

"Studies of asylum law and politics too often focus on just one country, one decision-making body or just look at legal opinions. In contrast, Sarah Scott Ford's excellent book gives us a truly comparative and holistic study of asylum law in the Nordic region, explaining in rich detail how domestic actors translate and co-produce international law within their institutional contexts. While the Nordic states are unique in certain ways, Ford's concept of entanglement gives scholars of asylum law and politics a powerful comparative tool which can be applied in other jurisdictions and will enable further much-needed comparative work in the field. This work is an important contribution and a must-read." Rebecca Hamlin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

About the Author