5 February 2025
Rebuilding Our Consensus on Asylum
The legal framework of refugee protection must survive contact with democratic politics.
The 1951 Refugee Convention was born from the horrors of the Second World War. Its promise was simple: those fleeing persecution have a right to seek asylum. That promise remains morally essential. But it is under strain.
The democratic challenge
International law doesn't implement itself. It depends on democratic politics—on governments that choose to honour their obligations, and on publics that support them. When confidence in the asylum system erodes, the whole edifice becomes vulnerable. Populists have learned to weaponise the issue; progressives have too often retreated to legalistic defence.
A new consensus
We need to rebuild. That means faster, fairer decision-making—so that those who need protection get it quickly, and those who don't aren't left in limbo. It means integration support that helps refugees contribute to their new communities. And it means honest, principled public debate: making the case for protection in terms that resonate with democratic majorities.
The alternative—abandoning our obligations or pretending the politics don't matter—is not acceptable. We can do better.