Escaping Populism – Safeguarding Minority Rights: Non-majoritarian Dynamics in European Policy-making
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In: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 56, No. 4, 05.2018, p. 906-922.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Escaping Populism – Safeguarding Minority Rights
T2 - Non-majoritarian Dynamics in European Policy-making
AU - Thielemann, Eiko
AU - Zaun, Natascha
N1 - Funding Information: * The authors would like to thank three anonymous referees for their valuable comments. This research was funded by Eidgenössisches Departement für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 University Association for Contemporary European Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2018/5
Y1 - 2018/5
N2 - Contrary to earlier predictions, communitarization in the area of asylum policies has not led to an erosion of refugee rights. Instead, there is growing evidence that EU asylum harmonization has safeguarded existing standards and even enhanced the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Europe. We seek to explain this by building on the insights of principal-agent theory. We argue that delegation to supranational institutions can strengthen non-majoritarian policy dynamics and shield EU policy-makers from populist pressures for further immigration restrictions that national governments are often confronted with. We support this argument empirically through a systematic longitudinal analysis of the evolution of EU asylum policies. In particular, we seek to assess the motivation for and impact of greater delegation to EU institutions on rights developments for asylum-seekers and refugees. We also explain to what extent EU policy-making has changed with the EU's response to the ‘Syrian refugee crisis’.
AB - Contrary to earlier predictions, communitarization in the area of asylum policies has not led to an erosion of refugee rights. Instead, there is growing evidence that EU asylum harmonization has safeguarded existing standards and even enhanced the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Europe. We seek to explain this by building on the insights of principal-agent theory. We argue that delegation to supranational institutions can strengthen non-majoritarian policy dynamics and shield EU policy-makers from populist pressures for further immigration restrictions that national governments are often confronted with. We support this argument empirically through a systematic longitudinal analysis of the evolution of EU asylum policies. In particular, we seek to assess the motivation for and impact of greater delegation to EU institutions on rights developments for asylum-seekers and refugees. We also explain to what extent EU policy-making has changed with the EU's response to the ‘Syrian refugee crisis’.
KW - asylum
KW - European Union institutions
KW - justice and home affairs
KW - minority rights
KW - populism
KW - principal-agent theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046664762&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jcms.12689
DO - 10.1111/jcms.12689
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85046664762
VL - 56
SP - 906
EP - 922
JO - Journal of Common Market Studies
JF - Journal of Common Market Studies
SN - 0021-9886
IS - 4
ER -