The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South

While scholarship on refugee migration tends to center on the Global North, most refugees actually reside in the Global South. This book shifts the focus, revealing how governments in the Global South make refugee policy, including a decade-long account of how two small states responded to the Syrian refugee crisis.

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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.