Intro -- Foreword -- References -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Part I: Claiming Asylum in the Twenty-first Century: An Institutional Perspective -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1 The Decision-Making Context: The Confusion Over Asylum and Immigration Control -- 1.1.1 Recent Developments in the Field of Asylum -- 1.2 Investigating State Practices of Governing Asylum -- 1.3 Old and New Theoretical Approaches: Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Theories of Social Practice and Structuration -- 1.4 Data Generation and Analysis in This Case Study -- References -- Chapter 2: Determining Refugee Status in the European Context: The Legal and Institutional Framework -- 2.1 International Refugee Law -- 2.2 EU Legislation on Asylum -- 2.3 The Austrian Context: Legal and Institutional Developments -- 2.3.1 How Can a Person be Granted International Protection in Austria? -- References -- Part II: Setting the Scene: The Context and Circumstances of Work at the Federal Asylum Office -- Chapter 3: The Organization: Structure, Environment and Socialization -- 3.1 The Formal Structure and Environment of the Organization -- 3.1.1 A Network Perspective: Reconstructing Social Practices Through an Asylum Record -- 3.1.1.1 What the Asylum Record Tells Us About the Organization -- 3.2 The Formal and Informal Requirements for the Job -- 3.2.1 Socialization: How to Begin the New Job… -- 3.2.2 …and Develop a Routine -- 3.3 New Public Management Logics at the FAO: Working as a Member of the Organization -- 3.3.1 Hierarchy and Management -- 3.3.2 Productivity and Time Pressure -- 3.3.3 Control: Measuring Quantity Instead of Quality -- 3.3.4 Organizational Development and Change -- 3.4 The Ideal-Typical Workflow -- 3.4.1 The First Phase: The Distribution of Files and Organization of Summons -- 3.4.2 The Second Phase: Preparation for the Interview. 3.4.3 The Third Phase: Conducting the Interview -- 3.4.4 The Fourth Phase: Conducting Investigations After the Interview -- 3.4.5 The Fifth Phase: Making and Writing the Decision -- References -- Chapter 4: The Asylum Interview as a Magnifying Glass for Key Issues: Conflicting Norms, Power Struggles, and Actors' Strategies -- 4.1 An Atypical Interview -- 4.1.1 Interview Structure and Content: Implementing Administrative Norms and Human Rights Standards -- 4.1.2 Playing Roles in a Clash of Logics: Actors' Intentions and Expectations -- 4.2 Situations in a More "Typical" Interview -- 4.2.1 Power Relations in the Interaction -- 4.2.2 Communicating and Understanding: Handling Conflicting Logics -- 4.3 Working with Interpreters: Observations and Officials' Perceptions -- 4.3.1 Active Interventions in the Interaction -- 4.4 The Interview Transcript: The Importance of the Written Word -- References -- Part III: Performing the Maneuver: Handling Four Dilemmas in Everyday Asylum Bureaucracy -- References -- Chapter 5: Regulation vs. Room for Maneuver -- 5.1 Norms and Instructions, Discretionary Power and Room for Maneuver -- 5.2 Individual Approaches, Attitudes and Strategies -- 5.2.1 The Claimant's Performance and the Subjective Dimension in Processing an Asylum Application -- 5.3 Theorizing Officials' Practices: Rule Application and Decision Making -- References -- Chapter 6: Definitiveness vs. Uncertainty -- 6.1 Information, Its Sources and Its Uses: Eliminating Uncertainty and the Social Construction of Facts -- 6.1.1 Working with Experts -- 6.1.2 The Power of the Expert Report -- 6.2 From Assessing Credibility to Constructing Incredibility -- 6.2.1 Credible Well-Founded Fear -- 6.3 Concluding Thoughts on Deciding in Uncertainty -- References -- Chapter 7: The Human Individual vs. the Faceless Case. 7.1 The Face in Face-to-Face Interaction: A "Human Aspect" vs. Organizational Aims -- 7.2 Making the Human Invisible: Claimants As Categories and Cases -- 7.3 Sources, Functions and Risks of Categorization -- References -- Chapter 8: Responsibility vs. Dissociation -- 8.1 The Responsibility of the Individual in Everyday Work -- 8.2 Emotions in the Job -- 8.3 Coping with Responsibility: Practices of Dissociation -- 8.4 Ethics in the Administration of Asylum -- References -- Part IV: Conclusion and Prospects: Theorizing Public Officials' Practices and Practical Ways Ahead -- Reference -- Chapter 9: Practices in Focus: The Dilemmas That Evoke them and the Effects They Have -- 9.1 From the Perspective of Structuration, Practice and Social Construction Theories -- 9.2 From the Organizational Perspective: Practices of Dealing with Formality and Informality -- References -- Chapter 10: Practical Implications: How to Deal with Structural Dilemmas? -- 10.1 Envisaging Change for the Better -- 10.2 Procedural Justice and Ethical Competence -- 10.2.1 Ethics and Organizational Culture in Public Administration -- 10.2.2 Ethical Decision Making in the Asylum Procedure -- 10.3 Future Avenues -- References -- Erratum to: Inside Asylum Bureaucracy: Organizing Refugee Status Determination in Austria -- Erratum to: Inside Asylum Bureaucracy: Organizing Refugee Status Determination in Austria.