Refugee Policies

Abstract

Refugee policy, at heart a correction to the problem of a loss of relationship between an individual and a state, is a fraught field. Besides deciding to whom status and protection should be granted, policy in this area has to manage domestic political expectations, and balance the interests of other states in the region and globally. While states try to work together in solidarity to address humanitarian needs, the pressures to limit numbers of arrivals, the desire to control and manage such arrivals, and the determination that the undeserving should be removed mean that collaboration is often difficult. Global trends see increasing numbers of displaced persons, not only from major crises (Syria, the Rohingya, and Venezuela) but also from long-running conflicts in Africa and Asia, and human rights abuses in many countries. The major crises themselves show different causes of displacement and refugee protection needs (conflict, ethnic tensions, and general political economic breakdown of a state). The policies emerging lean toward deterrence more often than welcoming, with national approaches, particularly in developed states, differing markedly from global proclamations of solidarity and support.