The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South

Ola G. El-Taliawi

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9780228021186
• eBook ISBN: 9780228021735
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Immigration Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

Mass refugee movements represent a complex policy problem to host governments as they challenge existing socio-economic and political structures. While scholarship on refugee migration tends to centre on the Global North, most refugees actually reside in the Global South, where the capacity to provide assistance is limited.

Shifting the focus from sensationalist rhetoric about mass migration to the North, The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South provides a comparative analysis of Lebanon’s and Jordan’s responses to the Syrian refugee movement, one of the largest displacements in modern history. Through extensive interviews and process tracing, Ola El-Taliawi uncovers the complex realities of refugee hosting and the hard choices governments make in light of this challenge. Building on the concept of complexity, El-Taliawi employs a unique methodology and analytical approach, painting a nuanced picture of asylum provision and identifying a spectrum of refugee hosting models.

More than ever, we need a better understanding of the unique politics of refugee policymaking in the Global South. This incisive book offers key insights for effective governance and reform of the global refugee regime.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Series Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Tables and Figures
• Keywords, Definitions, and Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Half Title Page
• 1 Rising Forced Displacement in the Global South: A Complex Policy Problem
• 2 A Complexity Approach to Analyzing Variation in Refugee Policy in the Global South
• 3 Syria’s Civil War and Ensuing Humanitarian Disaster: Eleven Years On
• 4 From Home to Hosts: Jordan’s and Lebanon’s Refugee Policy-Making Contexts
• 5 Syrian Refugee Displacement in Jordan: A Descriptive Narrative
• 6 Unpacking Jordan’s Policy Response to Syrian Displacement: “If We Can’t Win, Then We at Least Shouldn’t Lose”
• 7 Syrian Refugee Displacement in Lebanon: A Descriptive Narrative
• 8 Unpacking Lebanon’s Policy Response to Syrian Displacement: “Policy of No Policy”
• 9 One Displacement, Two Responses: Comparative Analysis and Discussion
• 10 Similar but Different: Understanding Refugee-Policy Variation in the Global South
• Notes
• References
• Index