Journal Article

Motives and consequences of Denmark’s new externalisation law

A new law in Denmark, which could ultimately end the integration of refugees on Danish territory, offers important lessons about contemporary externalisation policies and the political motives behind them, according to researchers.


In a new special issue PhD fellow at DIIS, Ahlam Chemlali, and co-authors Martin Lemberg and Zachery Whyte, analyse the Danish Social Democratic government´s L226, the externalisation law, which despite massive critique from civil society was quickly proposed and passed in the spring of 2021.

According to the authors, the Danish proposal suggests a move towards letting the desire for externalisation guide foreign policy. In this sense, even a ‘failed’ policy may be politically ‘successful’, where such success is measured not as sustainable international solutions to displacement that respect human rights, but in terms of attracting domestic anti-immigration votes.

The special issue on externalisation policies was published in Forced Migration Review, Oxford University.

Regions
Denmark

DIIS Experts

Ahlam Chemlali
Migration and global order
PhD Candidate
+45 2887 9179
Forced migration
Denmark’s new externalisation law
motives and consequences
Forced Migration Review, 2021, 36-38, 2021