Borders, Boundaries, and Exclusion in the Icelandic Asylum System

Helga Katrín Tryggvadóttir; Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir

doi:10.7202/1055573ar

Borders, Boundaries, and Exclusion in the Icelandic Asylum System

Authors

Helga Katrín Tryggvadóttir University of Iceland http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6427-0953
Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir University of Iceland http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8350-3898

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1055573ar

Keywords:

Iceland, boundaries, cultural boundaries, borders, migration, immigration policy, asylum seekers, exclusion, social isolation

Abstract

Grounded in theories of borders and boundaries, this article critically engages with the processes through which asylum seekers in Iceland are excluded from full participation in society. Immigration laws and bureaucratic barriers contribute to this exclusion, which is a result of restrictions on labour market participation, lack of housing, temporality, and lack of meaningful activities. We discuss how borders and boundaries create the identity of the asylum seeker and how the participants in this study experience that identity. We identify three main areas of exclusion: social exclusion, isolation, and cultural boundaries.

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Author Biographies

Helga Katrín Tryggvadóttir, University of Iceland

PhD Researcher, Department of Anthropology

Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir, University of Iceland

Professor, Department of Anthropology

cover of Refuge general issue 34 no. 2 2018

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Published

2018-12-10

How to Cite

Tryggvadóttir, H. K., & Skaptadóttir, U. D. (2018). Borders, Boundaries, and Exclusion in the Icelandic Asylum System. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 34(2), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.7202/1055573ar

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Issue

Vol. 34 No. 2 (2018): General Issue

Section

Articles

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Refuge authors retain the copyright over their work, and license it to the general public under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows for non-commercial use, reproduction and adaption of the material in any medium or format, with proper attribution. For general information on Creative Commons licences, visit the Creative Commons site. For the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, review the human readable summary.