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Abstract
How do host states with a refugee regime relying on a patchwork of competing and informal responses negotiate refugee return? Amid a stalemate, Lebanon has taken in more than one million Syrian refugees. As soon as conflict dynamics shifted in favour of the Syrian regime, politicians started calling for their repatriation. In this context, although conditions are not propitious for return, various state and non-state actors have rushed to devise return initiatives. The article discusses shifts in governing returns from the Lebanese state as the sole decision-maker to the dispersion of authority within competing structures. It shows how various actors have drawn on return as bargaining leverage. Their divergent agendas have enshrined disputed preferences over repatriation, obscuring accountability over refugee rights. Competing logics are to be contextualised in a historically informed analysis of the state and its refugee regime. They are further to be embedded in a geopolitical reading of the ways Syria’s war has cut across Lebanese borders. The Lebanese case conveys broader insights. Host states may draw on fragmentation and informality to blur responsibility over safe and dignified return. Additionally, fragmentation and informality within a state make it harder for international actors to rally support for principles governing repatriation.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. She also wishes to thank Christelle Barakat and Fidaa Al Fakih for their research assistance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Interview with Zeynep Mencutek, Duisburg, 27 July 2019.
2 Interview with Nora Stel, Nijmegen, 15 March 2020.
3 Interview with Lama Mourad, Harvard, 4 July 2019.
4 Interview with civil society activist, Beirut, 15 April 2019.
5 Interviews with representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Beirut, 6 May 2019, and the Lebanese Forces, Beirut, 6 May 2019.
6 Interview with representative from the Lebanese Forces.
7 Interview with representative from the Kata’ib Party, Beirut, 10 May 2019.
8 Interview with representative from the Free Patriotic Movement, Byblos, 9 May 2019.
9 Interview with representative from the Ministry of State for Displaced Affairs, Beirut, 14 May 2019.
10 Interview with representative from the Free Patriotic Movement.
11 Interview with representative from the Free Patriotic Movement.
12 Interview with representative from the Ministry of State for Displaced Affairs.
13 Interview with representative from the Free Patriotic Movement.
14 Interviews with representatives from the Progressive Socialist Party, Beirut, 2 May 2019; the Future Movement, Beirut, 11 June 2019; the Lebanese Forces; and the Katai’b Party.
15 Interviews with representatives from the Progressive Socialist Party, the Future Movement, and the Katai’b party.
16 Interviews with representatives from the Progressive Socialist Party and the Future Movement.
17 Interview with representative from the Future Movement.
18 Interview with Dima Mahdi, Beirut, 23 March 2020.
19 Interview with UNHCR official, Beirut, 14 May 2019.
20 Interviews with representatives from the Ministry of State for Displaced Affairs and the Lebanese Forces
21 Interview with Dima Mahdi.
22 Interviews with representatives from the Lebanese Forces and the Katai’b Party.
23 Interview with representative from the Progressive Socialist Party.
24 Interviews with representatives from the Progressive Socialist Party and the Future Movement.
25 Interview with Nasser Yassin, Beirut, 14 April 2019.
26 Interview with representative from the Future Movement.
27 Interview with representative from the Free Patriotic Movement.
28 Interview with Lama Mourad.
29 Interview with EU official, Brussels, 12 June 2019.
30 Interviews with representatives from the Progressive Socialist Party and the Future Movement.
31 Interview with UNHCR official, Beirut, 17 January 2019.
32 Interview with civil society activist, Beirut, 25 November 2019.
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Tamirace Fakhoury
Tamirace Fakhoury is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Lebanese American University. Her research interests include refugee and migration politics in the international system, and power-sharing and democratisation in conflict areas.