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Publications
Publications
  • 2017
  • Article
  • Virginia Journal of International Law

Refugees Misdirected: How Information, Misinformation and Rumors Shape Refugees’ Access to Fundamental Rights

By: Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli and Katerina Linos
  • Format:Electronic
  • | Pages:36
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Abstract

The global refugee regime represents one of the few generous commitments governments offer to outsiders. Indeed, few persons fleeing armed conflict actually claim international protection upon first arriving in Europe, even though the benefits of legal protection are significant. Displaced persons’ decisions to remain informal is particularly puzzling in light of the risks it entails; these include lack of access to food and housing and possible abuse by smugglers. Existing theories highlight bureaucratic obstacles and push-pull factors, such as attractive onward destinations, to explain the significant gap between formal protections and actual rights access. However, in environments of high uncertainty, decisions to apply for asylum and exercise rights depend critically on information, misinformation, and rumors. We argue that asylum seekers underutilize legal pathways because limited and biased information leads them to distrust government authorities and aid organizations, and increasingly trust smugglers. To assess these claims, we use mixed methods, and combine ethnographic and interview-based research with data drawn from anonymous online rumor trackers.

Keywords

Refugees; Knowledge Dissemination; Trust; Risk and Uncertainty; Rights; Europe

Citation

Carlson, Melissa, Laura Jakli, and Katerina Linos. "Refugees Misdirected: How Information, Misinformation and Rumors Shape Refugees’ Access to Fundamental Rights." Virginia Journal of International Law 57, no. 3 (2017): 539–574.
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About The Author

Laura V. Jakli

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Public Opinion Quarterly

    Review of 'Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy' by Lilliana Mason and Nathan P. Kalmoe (University of Chicago Press, 2022)

    By: Laura Jakli
    • July–August 2022
    • Public Administration Review

    How Do Disadvantaged Groups Seek Information about Public Services? A Randomized Controlled Trial of Communication Technologies

    By: Katerina Linos, Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli, Nadia Dalma, Isabelle Cohen, Afroditi Veloudaki and Stavros Nikiforos Spyrellis
    • 2021
    • Governance

    Everyday Illiberalism: How Hungarian Subnational Politics Propel Single-Party Dominance

    By: Laura Jakli and Matthew Stenberg
More from the Authors
  • Review of 'Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy' by Lilliana Mason and Nathan P. Kalmoe (University of Chicago Press, 2022) By: Laura Jakli
  • How Do Disadvantaged Groups Seek Information about Public Services? A Randomized Controlled Trial of Communication Technologies By: Katerina Linos, Melissa Carlson, Laura Jakli, Nadia Dalma, Isabelle Cohen, Afroditi Veloudaki and Stavros Nikiforos Spyrellis
  • Everyday Illiberalism: How Hungarian Subnational Politics Propel Single-Party Dominance By: Laura Jakli and Matthew Stenberg
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