The Comparative Politics of Migration Governance in Europe

To map the comparative politics of migration governance in Europe more systematically, this chapter examines the specific conditions which shape liberal and restrictive elements in countries’ migration policymaking. As an overview, it discusses three sets of interacting terrains on which European states navigate the relative openness or restrictiveness of their migration policies: political economy, domestic politics, and interactions with(in) the EU. I show the variation in how different states are situated on these terrains, and the factors that shape their relative position, with – necessarily cursory and selective – illustrations from across Europe