Les entretiens d’asyle au Royaume-Uni : le problème de preuves et la possibilité de l’anthropologie appliquée

Evidence and credibility assessments are an important part of asylum procedure in the UK. But answers given in the asylum interviews cannot be measured against an independent standard. This is particularly the case if the applicant claims to be stateless. Drawing on ethnomethodology, I analyse asylum interviews and show in what ways evidence can rather be understood as the result of an asymmetrical co-construction. Consequently, the individual applicant disappears and a ‘case’ is established. Anthropologists who write country of origin reports based on such ‘case material’ for tribunals and courts can highlight the asymmetries in evidence-making and question the very categorisations through which the state operates. The article contributes to ongoing debates on the role of anthropologists and their knowledge as experts in court.