Abstract
In this article we present fi ndings from comparative cases studies on the current role of refugees as civic and political actors in different national and EU asylum policy contexts. By drawing on case studies carried out among refugee advocacy NGOs and refugee community organisations (RCOs) in Austria, France, the Czech Republic and Brussels, we look into conditions and constraints that have shaped their participation practices in community based organisations, civil society co-operations and asylum rights advocacy.
Though refugee populations have limited resources and rights for political participation, the case studies highlight the broad range of community associations’ activities to support asylum seekers’ and refugees’ integration at a local level. However, institutionalised representation and participation structures of refugees in national asylum policies are only weakly developed.