Protection by Persuasion , livre ebook
231
pages
English
Ebooks
2010
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231
pages
English
Ebooks
2010
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
15 décembre 2010
EAN13
9780801458392
Langue
English
States located near crisis zones are most likely to see an influx of people fleeing from manmade disasters; African states, for instance, are forced to accommodate and adjust to refugees more often than do European states far away from sites of upheaval. Geography dictates that states least able to pay the costs associated with refugees are those most likely to have them cross their borders. Therefore, refugee protection has historically been characterized by a North-South impasse. While Southern states have had to open their borders to refugees fleeing conflict or human rights abuses in neighboring states, Northern states have had little obligation or incentive to contribute to protecting refugees in the South.In recent years, however, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has sought to foster greater international cooperation within the global refugee regime through special conferences at which Northern states are pushed to contribute to the costs of protection for refugees in the South. These initiatives, Alexander Betts finds in Protection by Persuasion, can overcome the North-South impasse and lead to significant cooperation. Betts shows that Northern states will contribute to such efforts when they recognize a substantive relationship between refugee protection in the South and their own interests in such issues as security, immigration, and trade. Highlighting the mechanisms through which UNHCR has been able to persuade Northern states that such links exist, Protection by Persuasion makes clear that refugee protection is a global concern, most effectively addressed when geographic realities are overridden by the perception of interdependence.
Voir
Publié par
Date de parution
15 décembre 2010
EAN13
9780801458392
Langue
English
Protection by Persuasion
Protection by Persuasion
International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime
Alexander Betts
Cornell University Press Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2009 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2009 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Betts, Alexander, 1980– Protection by persuasion : international cooperation in the refugee regime / Alexander Betts. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801448249 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Refugees—International cooperation. 2. Refugees—Government policy. 3. Refugees—Protection. 4. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I. Title.
HV640.B485 2009 362.87'6—dc22
2009024185
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing
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Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Contents
Introduction Refugee Protection The Global Refugee Regime The North–South Impasse UNHCR’s Conferences
1. The International Politics of Refugee Protection Refugee Protection as a Global Public Good The Refugee Regime as a Prisoner’s Dilemma The Refugee Regime as a Suasion Game The Role of Issue Linkage Beyond IssueLinkage: CrossIssue Persuasion CrossIssue Persuasion and Refugee Protection
2. The International Conferences on Assistance to Refugees in Africa (1981 and 1984) The First Conference
vii xi
1 5 8 13 16 23 25 27 32 37 40 46
53 56
v i C o n t e n t s
The Second Conference The Role of CrossIssue Persuasion Structural Conditions Agency Conditions 3. The International Conference on Central American Refugees (1987–1995) The CIREFCA Process Contribution to Refugee Protection The Role of CrossIssue Persuasion Structural Conditions Agency Conditions
4. The Comprehensive Plan of Action for Indochinese Refugees (1988–1996) Negotiating the Indochinese CPA Outcome of the Indochinese CPA The Role of CrossIssue Persuasion Structural Conditions Agency Conditions
5. UNHCR’s Convention Plus Initiative (2003–2005) Recognizing the Limitations of the 1951 Convention A Process with Three Strands North–South Polarization The Role of CrossIssue Persuasion Structural Conditions Agency Conditions
Conclusion: CrossIssue Persuasion and World Politics The Role of Substantive Linkages The Conditions for CrossIssue Persuasion Implications for UNHCR Implications for International Relations
References Index
60 65 66 71
78 80 86 91 94 104
112 114 120 125 127 138
143 145 147 151 154 156 168
175 176 179 183 186
197 207
Acknowledgments
This book is the culmination of ten years of thinking about the politics of refugee protection. The journey began unexpectedly in 1999. As an undergraduate with a long summer holiday, little to do, and less money, I discovered an opportunity to do volunteer work in a reception center for asylum seekers and refugees in a small town in the Netherlands. Refu gees had come to my attention during the Kosovo crisis, but until my visit to the center in Heerenween, I had had little understanding of their situation. What I took from my experience in the Netherlands was far greater than what I was able to contribute. While there, I simply helped to build a playground and organize activities for the children. But the experience proved to be the greatest introduction to world politics I could ever have hoped for. I spent long evenings talking to people who had experienced conflict or persecution firsthand in Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, former Zaire, China, Rwanda, and Liberia. These people were able to explain to me some of the major conflicts and atrocities of the post–Cold War era.
v i i i A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s
Many of the people I met were far more talented and qualified than I was ever likely to be, and it struck me as unjust that the world would confine such people to reception centers with no right to work and few opportuni ties, often for several years. On my return home, I was eager to learn more. I went to libraries— including the Refugee Studies Centre library in Oxford—to try to under stand better why these people were in this situation and what, if anything, could be done about it. It seemed to me a deeply political issue and surely the consequence of choices made by people in positions of power. I wanted to understand the underlying causes of flight, the reasons why political choices were made that led to such apparently limited solutions, and what other alternatives might exist. What I discovered during my first foray into the literature, however, was that there had been extremely little work on the politics of refugee protection. With few notable exceptions, political science and international relations, the very disciplines likely to shed light on the power relations, interests, and ideas that shaped the situation of refugees, had largely shunned the study of asylum and refugee protection. Beginning with an undergraduate dissertation on refugee protection as a global public good, which was eventually published in theJournal of Refugee Studies,I started to consider the forces that shape the relationship between global politics and refugee protection. I found my undergradu ate degree in economics inadequate for explaining the questions I was in terested in. I went to the University of Oxford, combining the study of international politics with the opportunities offered by the presence of the Refugee Studies Centre. There I discovered an ideal environment in which to work toward bridging the gap between the study of world politics and forced migration. One of the major outcomes is this book. It is the first small installment in my paying back the very considerable debt I owe to people I met at the asylum reception center in Heerenween. During the thinking about, research for, and writing of this book, I have received significant support from a wide range of people within Ox ford and beyond. Oxford is the perfect place to study the relationship be tween international relations and forced migration. Not only does it have the topranked Department of Politics and International Relations in Eu rope, but it is also a hub for the study of migration and forced migration. My associations with colleagues at the department; the Refugee Studies Centre; the Global Economic Governance Programme; the International
A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s i x
Migration Institute; and the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society have played an important role in the development of this book. My first word of thanks goes to Gil Loescher and James Milner, who have influenced much of my thinking on the relationship between refugees and international politics. They have been mentors, friends, and colleagues throughout my time in Oxford, and they have been a constant source of inspiration through their work, ideas, and commitment to the area. Of all my friends and colleagues in Oxford, Anne RoemerMahler may know this work better than anyone. She has spent many hours reading and dis cussing various iterations of the manuscript. I cannot name everyone, but discussions with and feedback from other colleagues have either directly or indirectly contributed. I am especially grateful to Stephen Castles, Mat thew Gibney, Guy GoodwinGill, Jason Hart, EvaLotta Hedman, Esra Kaytaz, Anna Lindley, Paul Martin, Walter Mattli, Kalypso Nicolaides, Gillian Peele, Jochen Prantl, Martin Ruhs, Devi Sridhar, Jennifer Welsh, and Ngaire Woods. Outside Oxford, others have played an important role in helping me to develop the ideas in the book. Susan Martin has been a constant source of advice and useful historical information relating to my case studies. I am grateful to Anna Schmidt for many conversations about both issue linkage and the refugee regime. I have had numerous influential discussions on burdensharing with Eiko Thielemann, who gave me the opportunity to present my undergraduate work at the London School of Economics and to publish my first journal article. I am grateful to Joe Nye for making the time to have dinner with me at Wadham to discuss the relationship between crossissue persuasion and soft power and for encouraging me with “I think you are on to something.” I also thank Bob Keohane for pushing me hard on the conceptual framework and encouraging me to clarify how my ideas fit in with the existing literature on issue linkage. Rey Koslowski read the entire manuscript, providing constructive feedback and sage advice on how to frame my argument. I am grateful to Sarah Cross (my intellectual doppelganger), who also read the entire book me ticulously and provided suggestions on the title. I spent nearly six months working at UNHCR Headquarters in the second half of 2005. That period enabled me to conduct interviews, un dertake archive research, and engage in some participant observation. While at UNHCR, I received significant support from Anita Bundegaard,
