Abstract
European countries face a tremendous challenge in coping with human trafficking, a challenge that has been exacerbated by the increase in irregular forms of migration to Europe since 2015. European Union members have made progress in developing a legal framework to protect trafficking victims. Yet attempts to coordinate national laws fail to address the growing problem. Research is needed to understand why states fall short of EU goals. Through case studies of Germany, Hungary and Turkey, we examine the extent to which adoption of the European Union’s Council Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings is associated with positive domestic changes. We focus on the effect of European Union membership status on implementation of victim protection policy. The results suggest that powerful EU members need incentives to cooperate that exceed costs, while capacity-building measures would likely drive change for candidates and newer members. Our findings help scholars predict when European legislative initiatives will likely translate into better domestic anti-trafficking measures. The findings also have broader implications for cooperative efforts in migration control and human rights protection.
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Notes
The World Values Question employed was V-37: “On this list of various groups of people. Could you please mention any that you would not like to have as neighbors? Immigrants/foreign workers”.
The question employed from the Eurobarometer was: “Please tell me whether each of the following statements evokes a positive or negative feeling for you: Immigration of people from outside the EU” (European Commission 2018).
The US State Department Trafficking in Persons Reports discuss conditions in a country in the previous year. For example, the State Department Report for 2013 addresses conditions in 2012.
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The authors thank Jamie E. Scalera and the anonymous reviewers for valuable insights. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the International Studies Association.
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Stobb, M., McDonald, C. The conditioning effect of EU membership status: understanding compliance with legislative initiatives to protect trafficking victims. Comp Eur Polit 17, 813–831 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-018-0127-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-018-0127-0