Evidence from a cross-national conjoint survey experiment.

How to protect asylum seekers and refugees has become one of the most contested and politicized issues in many European countries, yet little is known about public attitudes to asylum and refugee policies.

To help address this research gap, Professor Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, and colleagues in the international ‘MEDAM’ project have conducted research with 12,000 respondents across eight European countries. Their findings suggest that Europeans are generally committed to protecting refugees, but prefer policies that use limits and conditions. Some aspects of the current model of the international refugee system appear to be misaligned with the more control-based model that European citizens prefer. In this talk, Martin Ruhs will expand on the results of this new research and discuss the implications for debates about how to reform asylum and refugee policies in Europe.

This is a joint seminar between COMPAS and Kellogg College.