Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0006-3383-6447

Date of Award

5-31-2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Global Governance and Human Security

First Advisor

Jeffrey Pugh

Second Advisor

Kaija Schilde

Third Advisor

Darren Kew + Andrea Bartoli

Abstract

For decades, migration has ranked among the most pressing issues in European domestic and regional politics as the number of forcibly displaced persons seeking protection continues to rise. Complementary Pathways, developed as an alternative to the retrenchment of state-led refugee resettlement and restricted access to asylum, have gained increasing prominence in policy discourse and practice. Existing scholarship often explains their emergence through transnational policy transfer or government-led initiatives. Less attention, however, has been given to cases in which civil society actors initiate and negotiate such policies with the state. This dissertation examines the development of one such model—Humanitarian Corridors—focusing on faith-based civil society actors as drivers of policy innovation who establish pathways that enable refugees to travel safely to a third country to seek asylum. Their emergence raises important questions about authority, responsibility, and negotiation in refugee governance: what strategies and conditions enable civil society actors to secure state authorization for new pathways to refugee protection in politically challenging environments?

Using a comparative qualitative case study design, this dissertation analyzes negotiations between faith-based actors and government authorities in Italy (2015) and Belgium (2017). Drawing on 35 semi-structured interviews, primary document analysis, and participant observation, the study examines how these initiatives were conceived, negotiated, and implemented in politically sensitive migration contexts.

The dissertation develops an analytical framework that integrates negotiation theory with scholarship on migration governance and faith-based humanitarian engagement, shifting attention to the agency and relational dynamics of negotiating actors. It conceptualizes negotiations over Humanitarian Corridors along four dimensions—legal, financial, operational, and political—and demonstrates how negotiation functions as a strategic mechanism through which actors influence political and bureaucratic decision-makers within asymmetrical power relations. The findings show that state authorization emerged through negotiated compromise, allowing both faith-based actors and government officials to advance their interests while balancing humanitarian commitments and state priorities.

Comments

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