What Triggers Change in Asylum Policy? - A comparative study of policy change

Abstract: This thesis has the ambition to provide an answer to why governments’ asylum policy changes. Previous research suggests that changes in policy lay within ideational and material sources of preference. Correspondingly, the reason for change in asylum policy specifically, is partly due to the number of asylum seekers, the public opinion and the party ideology. However, scholars are not in agreement with which of these factors actually drives a change in preference and policy. This research aims to bridge the disagreement of what exactly causes governments to change their asylum policy. Using a qualitative comparative design, this study will exemplify policy change by three EU member states, namely Austria, Germany and the UK. The main finding of this thesis is that all variables play a vital role in this specific study on policy change regarding asylum. However the number one factor that triggers change is the number of asylum seekers as it does not only directly affect policy change, but also the competing variables as such.