Building a European asylum regime in discordance

Why has the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) proven so dysfunctional when tested? Beyond the circumstantial challenge of high numbers, is there not a deeper issue? In short, what is really the problem: refugees or EU asylum policy? This article sheds light on the inherent contradictions between narratives at play in the CEAS. Two structuring paradigms are identified: control and protection. The tension between them results in polarised representation of refugees based on powerful stereotypes that function as interpretative frames: the abuser and the vulnerable victim. This polarisation bears rich explanatory potential to understand tensions within the policy, with restrictive rules to prevent abuse of the asylum system being mitigated by wide-ranging exceptions introduced to better protect vulnerable persons.