Framing environmental displaces people in migration policies. Taking a closer look to migration policies of the Netherlands and New Zealand

Abstract

In 2014 an inhabitant of the island Kiribati asked for asylum in New Zealand because of the rising sea level. His request was refused, but the request made him the first ‘official’ climate refugee (NOS, 2017). The concept of the environmentally displaced person has changed a lot among the years. The objective with this thesis is to unpack the framing of environmental induced migration in the political discourse of the Netherlands and New Zealand in order to discuss the differences and similarities in terms of the two countries’ policy approaches. As the concepts framing in migration policy and root causes of migration are central in this research, and two countries are compared, a comparative case study is the best design of this research. This will be done by semi-structured interviews of experts and policymakers, and by the analyses of migration policy documents of the Netherlands and New Zealand. The environmental displaced people are stepping into the spotlight. Still, both countries have to deal with some obstacles and insecurities when it comes to policymaking. Multicausality, to what extent climate change is the causation and voluntary or forced migration are factors that play a significant role in this topic.