The multi-level governance of asylum in Italy: Katie Kuschminder
Channel: UNU MERIT
Date: 2019-04-10

More details: https://www.merit.unu.edu/events/event-abstract/?id=1834&speaker=Dr.%20Katie%20Kuschminder

The  migration  policy,  securitisation  and  governance  of  asylum  landscape  has  greatly  changed  in  Italy  over  the  past  five  years.  The  implementation  of  the  hotspot  approach  and  the  EU  relocation  programme  have  characterised  two  of  these  significant  changes.  This  paper  examines  how  recent  (2016-2017)  Eritrean  arrivals  in  Italy  experienced  and  respond  to  the  asylum  system.  The  analysis  reflects,  first,  on  the  multilevel  governance  of  the  interplay  between  the  institutional  level  of  the  EU,  national  policy,  and  local!   mu nicipal  policies  within  Italy.  Second,  this  paper  shows  how  Eritrean  asylum  seekers  have  been  refused  access  to  the  relocation  programme  by  local  authorities  in  Italy  and  how  Eritreans  react  to  this  bureaucracy  by  engaging  in  secondary  movements  within  Italy.  The  results  provide  an  analytical  critique  regarding  the  governance  shortcomings  of  the  relocation  programme  in  Italy  that  is  important  for  consideration  in  future  solidarity  and  responsibility  sharing  initiatives  within  the  EU.