Migration Policies in the OSCE Region

Abstract

In this chapter, we postulate and argue that the differential responses to Ukrainian, Syrian and Afghan refugees exemplify the discrepancies in the application of international asylum law among OSCE countries, which are rooted in historical animosities. Through case studies, we trace institutional racial biases in immigration policies and the exportation of Global North bordering practices. Identifying the dissonance these differential responses present in both the political sphere and the public provision of social solutions, we critically assess policy needs and affirm the continued impacts of historic, colonial, and racial antecedents in migration policy. Finally, we explore localization as an approach community leaders and social actors may employ to create sites of civic resistance through whole-of-society collaborations and the development of micro-social policies.