Empathy and Right Winged Populism in a Time of Crisis - European Asylum Policy Conflicts and Their Effect on European Integration from the Perspective of Austrian Police Officers

It is repeatedly stated in EU contracts and agreements to work towards a Common European Asylum System and common border control, dealing with a central part of state sovereignty on a supranational level. Nonetheless, the spiking numbers of Asylum applications in 2015 and 2016 led to a solidarity crisis in Europe, during which many EU member states followed national patterns, raising the question of the future of European integration. From border controls and identity checks to the administration of newly arriving asylum applicants and the enforcement of deportations, police officers are central actors in dealing with asylum seekers with a broad scope of action. Their work-reality is dependent on current asylum policy, while on the other hand they offer a bottom-up perspective on EU and national policy. In order to comprehend the perspective of Austrian police officers on European Asylum policy conflicts and their effect on the process of European integration, I conducted qualitative problem-centered interviews with 5 police officers in 3 Austrian states in January and February 2016. While all respondents described the EU’s asylum policy and party even the EU itself as failed, their general political orientation and ideas of an ideal solution for the situation differ widely. Furthermore the interviews are defined by two different argument structures: One is empathic towards refugees, the other one is right-wing populistic, partly including detailed conspiracy theories. In this paper, I will present the results of the interview analysis and work out implications for further research and the EU’s identity policy.