This thesis seeks to answer the question 'when, how, and why the Danish asylum system become more restrictive than the Swedish one between 1989 and 2001'. In the analysis of these reasons, a...Show moreThis thesis seeks to answer the question 'when, how, and why the Danish asylum system become more restrictive than the Swedish one between 1989 and 2001'. In the analysis of these reasons, a particular emphasis is placed on the different political perceptions of both countries’ welfare philosophies on the one hand, and their political culture on the other. The influence of anti-immigration parties on mainstream political culture is an important part of this analysis. Through a distinction between border and integration policy, it becomes clear that the Danish asylum policy becomes more restrictive in the second half of the 1990s, because of its focus on cultural integration as a duty to the welfare state. The thesis concludes with a discussion regarding the impact of (neoliberal) economic changes on solidarity within political culture.Show less
