Sharing Responsibility or Protecting Borders? : A Qualitative Analysis of the Development of the Common European Asylum System

Building on three theories of European integration – liberal intergovernmentalism, neofunctionalism and postfunctionalism – I offer an explanation to the process and outcomes of the development of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) between 2008 and 2018. The process to establish the CEAS has been characterized by clashing actor preferences, which forced actors into negotiations. This thesis aims to analyze the dynamics of these negotiations surrounding the CEAS. My results show that liberal intergovernmentalism explains locked positions in interstate bargaining and highly compromised outcomes, and even non-decisions, of the CEAS. I also argue that neofunctionalism loses explanatory power when sensitive issues concerning automatic quota systems and national sovereignty are discussed, although many arguments by the involved actors in the policy process draw upon neofunctional assumptions. Postfunctionalism is argued to gain explanatory power during recent years, since identityrelated arguments and Eurosceptical and anti-immigrant ideas in European governments have increased