"Entangled Asylum in the Nordic Region": Debut Book by postdoc Sarah Scott Ford
What happens when international human rights norms confront the practical realities of asylum decision-making?
In her debut book “Entangled Asylum in the Nordic Region - Legal Sociology and Human Rights”, postdoc Sarah Scott Ford explores Nordic asylum institutions and the growing role of human rights law. The book builds on Sarah’s PhD project on international human rights and refugee law across Nordic asylum institutions.
The book offers a bold examination of how institutional dynamics and human rights oversight shape the intricate mechanisms behind asylum adjudication. By framing asylum law as an ‘entangled regime’, Sarah uncovers how national decision-makers interpret, apply, and contest norms of national, international, and institutional origin, offering invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of migrants’ rights.
Through this socio-legal lens, it focuses on the Nordic countries – a region with a long history of compliance but increasingly marked by anti-immigrant politics and policy experimentation. As political pressures bear down against decades of rights-focused legal consolidation, a critical testing ground emerges where international law faces some of its most rigorous challenges.
The book comes out September 18th and is available for pre-order here.