Can't be held responsible

Weak norms and refugee protection evasion

Bibliographic Data

ID4445393
AuthorsAlise Coen (0000-0002-5239-3358, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue2
Pages341-362
Publication date2021-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-1178 • E-ISSN: 1741-2862
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0047117819884613
OpenAlexW2984766834
LanguageEN
Citations received8

States have increasingly moved away from refugee protection, intensifying the vulnerability of refugees and asylum-seekers. Drawing on theories of norm dynamics within International Relations (IR), this article argues that departures from refugee protection can be partly explained by the weakness of the normative principles governing the treatment of individuals fleeing persecution. Ambiguities, diverging interpretations, and varying levels of codification complicate efforts to hold states accountable to a complex bundle of human rights standards surrounding refugee and asylum protection. These weaknesses in the international refugee regime bolster norm-evading behavior wherein governments deliberately minimize their obligations while claiming technical compliance. Drawing on an analysis of US refugee and asylum policies under the Trump administration, the article reveals how norm evasion and accountability challenges emerge in the context of ambiguous standards vis-à-vis non-refoulement, non-detention, non-penalization, non-discrimination, and refugee responsibility-sharing

Accountability · Asylum seeker · Context (archaeology) · Criminology · Evasion (ethics) · Human rights · Law and economics · Norm (philosophy) · Normative · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Migration, Racism, and Human Rights · Migration, Refugees, and Integration

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