This book explores refugee policies in liberal democracies through a case study of non-aligned Sweden' s management of Soviet refugees during the first decade of the Cold War. It demonstrates that refugees' right to protection strengthened as asylum policies shifted from national politics to international law. Nevertheless, some ethnic groups were routinely subjected to movement restrictions plus other such control measures, and their treatment fluctuated significantly in tandem with the bipolar tensions of the Cold War. These and other insights reveal the pervasive societal impact of the Cold War, leading to the fundamental question: what are the conditions for humanitarian policies in times of international tension?

Cecilia Notini Burch is a researcher and lecturer in History, working in Sweden and in Great Britain.