At the limits of choice: how the Netherlands handles Dublin transfers using behavioural strategies

This article analyses how behavioural techniques, particularly nudging, shape the implementation of Dublin transfers in the Netherlands. Drawing on fieldwork with asylum seekers, caseworkers and legal experts, it shows how return is framed as a rational and voluntary choice while the window for refusal is gradually reduced. Nudging is not articulated as formal policy but is embedded in everyday practices such as informal conversations, reminders of consequences and structured choice environments that encourage cooperation without resorting to coercion. Asylum seekers frequently respond with strategic cooperation or performed voluntariness, demonstrating how ‘choice’ is produced under conditions of pressure, exhaustion and uncertainty. Rather than genuine consent, what results is a performance shaped by constrained options. The article builds on work on soft deportation but argues that coercion/sludge threshold offers a distinct analytical lens for understanding how compliance is cultivated under legal and logistical constraints. These dynamics are further enabled by the structural asymmetries of the Dublin III Regulation, which allocates responsibility for asylum claims without addressing disparities in conditions or recognition rates across Member States. By emphasising the perspectives of those targeted, the article highlights how behavioural strategies in migration policy implementation raise broader ethical concerns about steering decisions in coercive contexts.