<p>People in refuge face states with a dilemma. This dilemma consists of a wish (or obligation) to help those who need a refuge, and at the same time consider domestic issues such as financial costs and security problems. Thus, there are two perspectives which are important to consider when refugee policies are made. The aim of this paper is to see which perspective the EU had when making their migration policies. The question asked is: which perspective is behind the making of European refugee policy?</p><p>The theories realism and idealism are used to describe the conflicts in the making of European refugee policies. The method used is called qualitative text analyses in which you take out the most relevant information in the different parts of a text.</p><p>The results showed that it has been difficult for the European states to agree on a common European migration law. The agreements that have been made have made it more difficult for refugees to enter the European Union, that is, a protective politics have been made. This leads to the conclusion that EU: s refugee policies at large have been formed from a realist perspective to protect the interests of the national states.</p><p>Key words: European refugee politics, realism and idealism, Geneva Convention.</p>

Bakom Rubrikerna (Behind the headlines) is a project that uses visual communication and the idea of negative space to critique Swedish media, politicians, and the discourse regarding refugees with different backgrounds (cultural, geographical, socioeconomical, religious, political) and ethnicities. It explores the concept of selective sympathy and what role media, especially newsprints, have in recreating harmful narratives around certain refugees. The project aims to give the reader a deeper understanding of the harmful Eurocentric and xenophobic views that influence refugee politics and media’s coverage of the two different refugee (human) crises, in 2015 and today, in 2022.

People in refuge face states with a dilemma. This dilemma consists of a wish (or obligation) to help those who need a refuge, and at the same time consider domestic issues such as financial costs and security problems. Thus, there are two perspectives which are important to consider when refugee policies are made. The aim of this paper is to see which perspective the EU had when making their migration policies. The question asked is: which perspective is behind the making of European refugee policy? The theories realism and idealism are used to describe the conflicts in the making of European refugee policies. The method used is called qualitative text analyses in which you take out the most relevant information in the different parts of a text. The results showed that it has been difficult for the European states to agree on a common European migration law. The agreements that have been made have made it more difficult for refugees to enter the European Union, that is, a protective politics have been made. This leads to the conclusion that EU: s refugee policies at large have been formed from a realist perspective to protect the interests of the national states. Key words: European refugee politics, realism and idealism, Geneva Convention.

The European Union has faced lots of criticisms over the last couple of years when it comes to how refugees are treated in Europe. The Lisbon Treaty states in Article 2 that the European Union is founded on respect for human freedom, dignity and equality. Values such as democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and that the rights of persons belonging to minorities should be respected are also something that the Union should be based on. How is it then that the Roma people, which are Europe's largest minority, are being persecuted all over Europe, that they get deported and have their camps destroyed? Why are refugees from North Africa being sent back before they even have a chance to seek asylum?   In this essay I have examined how the EU are treating refugees and tried to distinguish if there are any differences in how they treat internal and external refugees. I have analyzed this by using liberal universalism theory to see if the EU lives up to the liberal values that they claim to be based on. I found out that the European Union has a lot to work on when it comes to managing refugees in a fair way. I also found that the economic crises we have today has stolen focus from the refugee issue and that it also have affected the attitude towards refugees in a negative way.