From crisis to contradiction: explaining selective solidarity and asylum governance in Austria after 2015

This contribution examines how local governance influences the implementation and outcome of asylum policies. In the case of Austria, we identify an oscillation between restrictive and liberal asylum policies, revealing the adaptability of multi-level governance. The two critical moments of 2015/16 and 2022 are reviewed to identify factors for restrictions, liberalisation, selectiveness, or universality. Our analysis demonstrates how the arrival of Ukrainian refugees prompted a paradoxical liberalisation of increasingly restrictive asylum policies established post-2015. The framework of policy, politics, context and jurisdictions reveals how territorial divergence within Austria’s federal system creates varying outcomes in asylum seekers’ reception and access to services, particularly highlighting the tension between selectivity and universality in policy implementation. The paper argues that the analytical lens of jurisdictions is a vital dimension through which to assess the impact of policies, both in terms of vertical territorial and horizontal governance.