Bosnian refugees in the Scandinavian countries: a comparative perspective on immigration control in the 1990s.

Abstract

"In all the Nordic countries, a change of direction in refugee policy has taken place in recent years, primarily for similar reasons to those in the rest of Western Europe. These changes have been sparked off by the situation in the former Yugoslavia, but should also be seen as reflecting something more.... The prospect of a continuing influx of refugee groups, and a corresponding strain on national budgets, creates a backdrop for new thinking in all countries. An interesting aspect of this issue in the Nordic region is that, despite being a fairly homogeneous area, these countries have chosen radically different points of departure for their approach to refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The article identifies these different national strategies and analyses the subsequent tendency towards convergence of policies that has taken place along the way."