Founded in 2024 by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Krause and Dr. Christiane Fröhlich, the initiative “Externalizing Asylum” compiled the first contributions in response to intensifying efforts in the Western/Northern political sphere to externalize asylum. More than 60 scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds with decades of experience in migration and refugee studies responded to the call to provide much needed data and factual analysis for further policy-making.

Externalization of asylum and migration management is a highly topical and controversial issue shaping political and societal discussions worldwide. Externalization should be understood as the process of shifting functions that are normally undertaken by a State within its own territory so that they take place, in part or in whole, outside its territory.

“Externalizing Asylum” provides comprehensive insights into the background and effects of externalization practices. Hosted by the Working Group on Externalization of the Refugee Law Initiative and managed by an multinational and multidisciplinary editorial board, the initiative offers a platform for nuanced analyses by scholars from around the world addressing diverse legal, political, conceptual, ethical, and further challenges of externalization. The contributions can enrich public debates and help to identify humane asylum practices. For more information on the submission process, click here.

In addition, we provide further resources on externalization. These include scientific publications and podcasts as well as contributions from policy-making, civil society, and the media in German, English, French, Dutch and Greek.

In 2026, the blog was relaunched under the leadership of Dr. Mariana Gkliati and Dr. Christiane Fröhlich as editors-in-chief and set-up for continuous publication with a multi-disciplinary, multinational editorial board.