Natascha Zaun

Natascha Zaun is an Assistant Professor in Migration Studies at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a position she has held since 2017. Prior to joining LSE, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Refugee Studies Centre of the University of Oxford and at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Mainz under Prof. Dr. Arne Niemann. During her doctoral studies at the University of Bremen, she was affiliated with the Collaborative Research Center 597 "Statehood in Transition," working on border regime change and personal mobility under Prof. Dr. Steffen Mau.

Dr. Zaun's research focuses on European asylum policy, responsibility sharing, the influence of independent institutions, and populism on minority rights. Her scholarly work examines how international norms shape EU asylum and immigration policies, the dynamics behind EU asylum policy development, and the impact of economic crises on migration patterns and policies. She investigates why cooperation has led to reinforced refugee protection on paper but has often failed in practice, highlighting the disparities between North-Western and South-Eastern European member states in asylum policy implementation.

Her publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on EU asylum politics, with significant contributions analyzing the non-adoption of refugee quota systems, the role of non-majoritarian dynamics in safeguarding minority rights against populist pressures, and the evolution of global visa policies. Her research reveals how visa waivers have become increasingly unequally distributed, creating a "global mobility divide" where citizens of OECD countries benefit while those from African nations face diminishing mobility rights.

Dr. Zaun has authored two influential books: "The global economic crisis and migration" (2018), which analyzes how economic crises impact migration patterns and policies, and "EU Asylum Policies: The Power of Strong Regulating States" (2017), which explains the EU's lack of effective response to the refugee crisis through the lens of member state bargaining power. Her scholarly contributions have appeared in leading journals including the Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and European Journal of Migration and Law.