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REGULATING REFUGEES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REGIME TYPE AND POLITICAL ASYLUM IN CHINA AND MALAYSIA By Erica Lauren Seng Submitted to the Faculty ofthe School of International Service of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In International Affairs Chair: Dr. Pek Koon Heng ^O:0 Dr.~~ r YoungshikYniinashik BongRotip^^ Knu-y k) fatn> ¿_ Dean of the School of Internationalil ServiceServie */ fíjLL^LúJtiçq4M O??? Date 2010 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ^CR- UMI Number: 1486727 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 1486727 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest® ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 © COPYRIGHT By Erica L. Seng 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REGULATING REFUGEES BY Erica L. Seng ABSTRACT This study analyzes the impact that political regime type has on immigration and asylum policies. The following two hypotheses are tested: greater degrees of political centralization will determine the extent to which asylum policy can be successfully formed and implemented and that greater degree of political openness in a regime will lead to greater difficulty in successfully forming and implementing a coherent policy of asylum. In order to account for the sheer number of refugees within East Asia and to further the existing research on the impact of non-democratic regime on policy, I conduct a comparative case study between Burmese asylum seekers in the Federation of Malaysia, a hybrid regime, and North Korean asylum seekers the People's Republic of China, an authoritarian regime. My findings indicate that greater degrees of political decentralization and political openness do limit the creation and implementation of coherent immigration and political asylum policy measures. Il ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my respect for and gratitude to my advisor and second reader, Dr. Pek Koon Heng and Dr. Youngshik Bong for their valuable insights, guidance and, when necessary, the reality checks. A special thanks is also in order for American University Library for the use of their collections and for sharing their respective expertise, Emily Dunn for guiding me through the thesis registration and submission process, and the Office of the SIS Dean for their flexibility and patience during my time abroad. Finally, I wish to thank my Mother and Father, Gary and Leslie Seng, for their love and moral support throughout my time at American University and long before. in TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LISTOFILLUSTRATIONS vi Chapter I INTRODUCTION 1 Literature Review Theoretical Framework Research Methods Summation and Overview II RECOGNITION OF REFUGEE STATUS 49 The Origins of Refugee Rights Rising Barriers to Migration Tensions between State and Refugee Rights in East Asia and Beyond Factors behind Forced Migration Summation III REGIME TYPE IN MALAYSIA AND CHINA 80 Federation of Malaysia People's Republic of China ¡v Summation IV IMMIGRATION AND POLITICAL ASYLUM POLICY IN MALAYSIA ANDCHINA 125 Federation of Malaysia People's Republic of China Summation V CONCLUSION 175 BIBILOGRAPHY 185 IV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 2.1 Population of Concern from North Korea 64 2.2 Population of Concern from Burma 70 3. 1 The Federation of Malaysia's Polity Score 90 3.2 The Federation of Malaysia's Rating Constraints on Executive Power.. ..91 3.3 Degree of Political Openness in the Federation of Malaysia 102 3.4 Malaysia's Trade 103 3.5 The People's Republic of China's Polity Score 113 3.6 Constraints on Executive Power in the People's Republic of China 1 14 3 .7 Degree of Political Openness in the People' s Republic of China 117 3.8 People's Republic of China's Trade 121 4.1 Employed International Migrant Population in Malaysia 130 4.2 International Migrant Stock in Malaysia 132 4.3 Refugees in Malaysia by Country of Origin 135 4.4 Total Refugee Population in Malaysia 149 4.5 Composition of the Population of Concern in Malaysia 151 4.6 Net Migration in China 157 4.7 Total Refugee Population in the People's Republic of China 158 4.8 Refugees by Country of Origin in the People's Republic of China 159 4.9 Total Population of Concern in the People's Republic of China 168 Vl CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The fundamental question that I seek to address is the relationship between the institutional structures and procedures of national governments and their responses to international challenges and crises. The implications that the rise of globalization have for sovereignty and the capacity of states remain a major source of contention within the literature of international studies. In order to better ascertain the manner through which states attempt to cope with the changing structure of the international system, I will trace the evolution of policy formation and implementation in response to challenges posed by one of the more controversial aspects of globalization: refugee flows. Immigration policies are devised by governments to facilitate the regulation of population flows across their respective national borders. Refugees and asylum-seekers pose a challenge to this traditional sovereign exercise. These individuals are forced to cross the borders of their countries of origin in order to escape persecution, general threats, and, in some cases, certain death. Their plight calls for humanitarian initiatives but their presence forces states to contend with complex and contradictory principles regarding their obligations as members of the international community and the rightful control of their own territory. The concept of political asylum has been enshrined in international law since the end of World War II (see Chapter II for further discussion). In reality, states have not 1 always conformed to the standards of proper behavior, also known as norms, held by the international community. Many states have not ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. States, regardless of whether or not they have signed the aforementioned agrees, are forced to contend with forced migration. Hence, the immigration policies of non-signatory states are very relevant to the plight of refugees. The structure of the international system has undergone sweeping changes within the twenty year aftermath of the Cold War. Globalization has led to significant increases in international migration, both voluntary and forced. Although the majority of states have become increasingly receptive to the capital and financial flows associated with globalization, they have become increasingly resistant to population flows.2 These trends provide an interesting opportunity to examine the manner through which states seek to address international phenomenon. I focus on the impact that forced migration has on states and the ability of governments to regulate forced migration flows because it is a transnational phenomenon that must ultimately be resolved at the national level of governance. This thesis specifically analyzes the manner through which states generate their policies of immigration and political asylum, the potential effectiveness of these policies, the state's ability to implement the aforementioned policies, and the impact that these policies have on political asylum-seekers. 'Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi, International Relations Theory: Realism, Pluralism, Globalism and Beyond, 3rd Edition, (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999), 489. 2 Christopher W. Rudolph, "Globalization, Sovereignty and Migration: A Conceptual Framework," UCLA Journal ofInternational Law and Foreign Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 2, (Fall/Winter, 1998- 1999): 326. 2 I argue that the ability of states to formulate and effectively respond to influxes and steady flows of asylum seekers in a manner that is consistent with their desired policy objectives is contextualized by their political regimes type. My aim is to gain a more complete understanding of the ability of East Asian states to articulate and to enforce a coherent policy, yet the diversity of East Asian states requires me to limit the scope of my analysis. In order to explore the impact that regime type can have on these policies, I analyze the political regime types of two different East Asian regimes, the Federation of Malaysia and the People's Republic of China. I examine the impact that the regime type of these two state governments has on their policies of political asylum and immigration. I selected the specific cases of North Korean refugees in China and Burmese refugees in Malaysia. This study of regime types and political asylum policy will provide insight into a region where the state apparatus has often defied mutually exclusive classification into one of the traditional regime-type: democratic, authoritarian or totalitarian. Researching policy formation and implementation will shed further light on both the conception of sovereignty and the opportunities and obstacles that national governments face in the modern era. I test two main hypotheses that pertain to regime type: 1 . The degree of political centralization will determine the extent to which asylum policy can be successfully formed and implemented, with higher levels of centralization being more conducive to policy formation, coherence and implementation. 3 2. The greater the degree of political openness within a particular regime type, the greater the difficulty there will be in successfully forming a coherent policy of asylum and implementing it. My results indicate that political openness and decentralization of power limit the ability of states to articulate and to implement a policy that is consistent with the policy objectives of the policy elites.