ABSTRACT
European asylum statistics illustrate that once they have reached the borders of Europe, most people fleeing conflict become involuntary participants in an asylum lottery. Jurisprudential developments are put in focus to determine the limitations of the European Union’s external immigration management and border controls. Refugees and other forced migrants, therefore, have to resort to irregular migration routes to get to Europe and entering without the necessary authorisation. The status determination process is further aggravated by the flight and migration patterns, which are characterised by mixed migration movements. Migration movements are prone to change; drivers of displacement are not constant and patterns of dislocation change rapidly. Flight from conflict is one major component of the larger phenomenon of forced displacement and forced migration movements, both internally, i.e. within the affected state’s borders, and across the globe. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
