The Welfare State and the Social Rights of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Comparative Perspective: The Cases of Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom

The Welfare State and the Social Rights of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Comparative Perspective: The Cases of Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom Public Deposited

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Archer, Claire
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science

Abstract

This thesis examines reception conditions for asylum applicants and social rights for refugees and non-EU legal immigrants across the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden. These countries are among the top asylum recipients in the EU, but each exemplifies a different welfare state typology: liberal, Christian democratic, and social democratic, respectively. The thesis rests on the analytical assumption that welfare regime affects immigrants' social rights, but also explores the impact of incorporation regime (inclusive vs. exclusive policies) and "entry categories" to determine how these influence immigrants' access to benefits. There are considerable differences across the regimes, but in all three cases asylum seekers receive minimal material support and face barriers to labor market participation. There are huge discrepancies between social rights granted to various entry categories, with asylum seekers always at the bottom, admitted refugees near the top, and third-country nationals somewhere in between, depending on the welfare and incorporation regimes.

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