the asylum crisis through regulatory and institutional frameworks. There is an extensive literature on the asylum crisis but the regional focus of this volume is under-researched. The aim is not to compare one region to another, but to study how individual regions deal with the asylum crisis and whether there are crosscutting issues across the board. We were very fortunate to work with a very renowned and diverse group of legal scholars who grappled with the varied challenges of asylum in the major regions of the world: Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. We hope that readers will benefit considerably from their knowledge and insights about the various themes of their engagement. For their enthusiasm, cooperation and patience we profoundly thank all of them. At Bruges we were assisted by interns and visiting researchers, whose dedication was critical to bringing the volume to fruition. Special thanks to Silvia Bottega and to Susan Phillips Clavarino for editorial assistance. We also want to thank the trio of Professor Parvati Nair, Dr Sara Iglesias Sanchez and Dr Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, who found time to read several chapters of the book and so kindly offered their words of appreciation. Our gratitude is also for the Ashgate team who worked with great proficiency, and understanding. Alison Kirk, Sadie Copley-May and Alex Papworth all deserve a big thank you for their excellent work.