ABSTRACT. This article focuses on current asylum policies in Germany and analyzes the impact of the federal state structure on the field of asylum. The paper is based on migration statistics and documents by federal institutions and on the most recent secondary literature on asylum in Germany. Starting from the assumption that the role of institutions is a comparatively neglected area of migration research, the paper investigates how the competences of the German federal states, the Länder, differently shape the living conditions, social situations and integration opportunities of refugees. It comes to the conclusion that the influence of the federal state structure on asylum is problematic since it creates unequal living conditions for refugees. However, because of the role of the federal states as advocates for the labor market integration of refugees, federalism overall contributes to encouraging the development of German asylum policies towards an integration regime. pp. 122–144
JEL codes: D72; J44; R23

Keywords: refugee; asylum policy; federalism; institution; migration

How to cite: Laubenthal, Barbara (2016), “Political Institutions and Asylum Policies – The Case of Germany,” Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management 4(2): 122–144.

Received 27 January 2016 • Received in revised form 17 July 2016
Accepted 17 July 2016 • Available online 10 August 2016

doi:10.22381/PIHRM4220166