The Syrian Emergency: A Catalyst for Change in the International Refugee Regime

Abstract

\n Beginning in 2012, the Syrian refugee exodus has been one of the largest, speediest, and geopolitically significant seen in recent years. It has placed enormous pressures on host states in the Middle East, stretched the international humanitarian system to breaking point, and, of course, entailed enormous suffering for the millions of Syrian citizens who have been forced to flee from their own country. At the same time, the Syrian crisis has had a much broader impact on the global refugee regime and the way in which the international community addresses large-scale movements of displaced people. This article explores that impact, focusing on issues such as encampment and settlement strategies, the use of cash transfers, refugee employment and livelihoods, the refugee impact on host communities, the engagement of development actors in humanitarian crises and the challenge of providing safe and legal routes to people in need of protection. In these respects, the article suggests, the Syrian refugee emergency has acted as a more important catalyst for change than the high-level diplomatic activity associated with the Global Compact on Refugees.