Influence and impact: interacting factors in asylum policy-making and implementation in Canada and Turkey (1988–92)

Abstract

With rates of asylum seekers increasing across decades worldwide, why do high- and middle-income countries persistently adopt more restrictive asylum policies? By analyzing data from the cases of Canada and Turkey (1988–92), this study shows that domestic policy preferences of decision-makers and refugee determination systems constitute the factors with the highest impact on restrictive asylum policy-making. Through the use of latent content analysis of primary historical documents and elite and expert interviews and an innovative application of the ADVIAN classification method of impact analysis, this study claims that interactions among institutions are critical for the changes a country's asylum policy. Conclusions of this study challenge existing research to move beyond monocausal explanatory schemes for understanding restrictive asylum policy trends and engage with complex frameworks accounting for interacting factors.