Brokering in uncharted terrain: the revocation of protection in Norwegian and Danish asylum cases

Norway and Denmark have recently adopted active policies of temporary protection featuring, inter alia, the revocation of residence permits. These policies narrow the space for human rights considerations and beg the question of how immigration decision-makers approach and navigate this new legal terrain. This article characterizes asylum appeals boards as brokers, who balance competing legal and political imperatives in this uncharted terrain. Contrasting the different ways these measures have been rolled out in both countries, the institutional analysis foregrounds the myriad challenges engendered by this new case complex. While the Danish variant is tightly regulated and coupled to (evolving) interpretations of human rights law, the Norwegian instruction-based approach challenges institutional autonomy. Despite different implementing approaches, the comparative analysis reveals broader strategies and positioning that serve to maintain institutional legitimacy in the face of this exceptional policy shift.