Would East Meet West? Refugee Policy in Eastern EU Member States

Much of the literature on Eastern Europe characterize its national identity as based on Europeanization, the adoption of Western European institutions and cultural norms. But as this article shows in the light of the Syrian refugee crisis, ethnicity has been more pervasive than assumed.  Eastern politicians have viewed Muslim and non-European refugees as socio-political and cultural threats to the integrity of their countries and the EU. This ethnic boundary that was "discrete" because of the limited presence of non-European immigrant populations became real with these refugees and the formulation of an EU-wide mechanism of redistribution. The reasons behind this divergence is found in their shorter and more instable political history, status as small states and limited experienced with non-European populations. Nonetheless, their policies are expected to converge over time with those of Western EU member states as a result of various processes of europeanization and their economic dependence on the latter.