Mershon post-doctoral scholar Sefa Secen published "Electoral competition dynamics and Syrian refugee discourses and policies in Germany and France" in European Politics and Society. Secen explains that Germany has implemented the most generous policies toward Syrian refugees among European countries. Contrarily, its leading partner within the EU, France, viewing the refugee crisis primarily as a matter of security, has avoided them.

In his writing, he argues that these divergent approaches are closely linked with electoral competition dynamics. By comparatively analyzing the Syrian refugee discourses and policies in Germany and France, this study permitted him to evaluate better and understand the domestic sources of refugee politics in liberal democracies.