Susan Fratzke
Susan Fratzke is a Senior Policy Analyst with MPI’s Global Program, based in Germany, where she conducts comparative research on asylum policy, forced migration, and refugee resettlement and complementary pathways.
Ms. Fratzke has authored or contributed to numerous reports assessing the role of refugee pathways and sponsorship in addressing humanitarian needs and displacement. Her work conceptualizing the role of sponsorship in developing humanitarian pathways has been widely cited internationally in research and policy documents.
She also leads work on national asylum systems and the role of international and regional cooperation in maintaining access to protection in response to cross-border humanitarian displacement. She managed an MPI-Robert Bosch Stiftung initiative that examined ways to strengthen national asylum systems worldwide. She has also been a core contributor to MPI’s longstanding work on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).
Ms. Fratzke has worked for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration in Brussels and Washington, DC, and as a coordinator for an adult literacy program serving resettled refugees in Minnesota. She holds an MA in German and European studies, with a concentration in European migration policy, from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She also earned a certificate in refugees and humanitarian emergencies from the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown.
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Explore Content by Susan Fratzke
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A New Prime Minister, a New Deal: Time for an ambitious UK–EU pact on small boats
The arrival of a new UK Prime Minister offers a window to strike an ambitious UK-EU deal on Channel crossings, trading increased returns for humanitarian routes from Europe.
Countries Are Pushing Borders Outward to Expand Deterrence and Protection Alike
Externalization—the enlistment of partner countries to manage migration before people arrive or assist with removals and returns—has shifted from the policy fringe into the mainstream. Models range from deterrence to protection.
From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict
As policymakers seek to phase out protection statuses for displaced Syrians and eventually Ukrainians, this report urges a phased, coordinated approach to status transitions, voluntary return, and reconstruction.
Mending, Not Ending, the Refugee Convention Could Save the Protection System and Restore Public Trust
The humanitarian protection system created through the 1951 Refugee Convention is a remarkable accomplishment. Yet this legal instrument that has saved millions of lives is showing its age. This short read explores ways to update the Convention, without opening Pandora's box, through a possible new Protocol that could address gaps and help better meet today's challenges.
Small Boats, Big Stakes: Options for a UK-EU deal on migration and asylum
Small boat crossings to the United Kingdom have surged since 2018; a post-Brexit readmissions deal with the EU, paired with managed pathways, could help address them.
Can Innovation Help Blunt the Impact of Foreign Aid Cuts on Migration Management Programs?
The termination of what MPI estimates is up to $2.3 billion in yearly U.S. foreign aid earmarked for migration and displacement projects leaves a vast gap that other international donors are unlikely to fill, particularly as European countries are themselves cutting their assistance. This short read posits three scenarios that may emerge, including one in which these funding shocks unleash long-discussed innovations and efficiencies in migration management and displacement programming.
The Future of Complementary Pathways: Paving the way for growth
Experts explored steps to unlock further growth and overcome obstacles to scaling refugee sponsorship initiatives and complementary pathway schemes, including education and labour-based programs, for those in need of international protection.
Complementary Pathways: Key factors in future growth
About 60 labour, family reunification and education programmes open to refugees operated in 2024. Scaling these complementary pathways requires government buy-in and stable funding.
Legal Pathways and Enforcement: What the U.S. Safe Mobility Strategy Can Teach Europe about Migration Management
The Biden administration's ambitious migration management strategy, which combined increased regional cooperation and expanded lawful pathways with a more orderly system for border arrivals, eventually led to a significant drop in irregular migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. The strategy holds promise for governments in Europe also tackling mixed migration flows—however sequencing matters, among other lessons.
The Complicated Reality of Syrians’ Return
While the fall of the al-Assad regime is a seismic moment, it may be premature for sizable numbers of Syrians to return after years abroad—as some host countries want. Conditions remain unstable and returnees would face major housing shortages and limited access to jobs. Instead of returns, host countries would do well to focus for now on other priorities as regards Syria and Syrian refugees, this short read argues.
