A refugee crisis as a policy window : a case study on the Hungarian immigration policy change in 2015

Abstract: The escalating conflict in Syria that started in 2011 would cause millions of Syri- ans to flee the country. It is estimated that as much as 7,6 million Syrians were displaced internally and 3,7 million externally. This initially caused an enormous pressure on neighboring countries were refugees were displacing to (Ostrand 2011: 1-2). Though as the years passed the large majority of externally displaced refugees stayed in the neighboring states, though this would change in 2015 (UNHCR 2013: 1-3). In the spring of 2015 several ships either sank or were abandoned in the Mediterranean resulting in fatalities. Though as an increasing amount of refugees reached the southern member states of the EU it created an immense pressure on the immigration handling processes of the affected countries such as Italy and Greece (Livingstone, Cerelus 2016). A large amount of refugees would then start moving up throughout eastern Europe towards northern countries such as Germany and Swe- den. Though it won’t be long until Hungary decides to fence in its southern border to prevent refugees from passing through the country. As criticism flourished from the EU, member states of the EU, and other organizations, Hungary did not alter its policy, but instead came to further deteriorate the relations by defending its political position (Than, Krisztina 2017). This was done even though Hungary is heavily dependent on monetary support from the European Union as well as access to its Schengen zone (European Union 2017). Little research has been done on this matter where countries such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia amongst others have decided to challenge the basic principles of free movement and the Dublin treaty after the refugee crisis. This senior thesis aim to look at how Hungary could have been able to do a immigration policy change that stands in contrast to that of the EU while they are in many ways dependent on the Schengen zone and financial support from the EU.