The Rohingya Refugee: A Security Dilemma for Bangladesh

Abstract

The Rohingya is an ethnic minority group in Myanmar. Being denied citizenship, thousands of Rohingyas have crossed into neighboring Bangladesh, putting unbalanced pressure on its scarce resources. While most studies explain why and how insecurity produces refugees, the opposite process – how refugees produce conflict, dilemma, and insecurity in their host country – is also worthy of study. This article argues that the Rohingya crisis is no longer only a humanitarian calamity but a potential threat to Bangladesh's internal stability. Bangladesh finds itself in a fix trying to fulfill the national interests of the country, and uphold human security issues of Rohingya.

KEYWORDS:

• the Rohingya refugee
• Myanmar
• Bangladesh
• security
• Islamic militant

Utpala Rahman is PhD Candidate, School of International Relations, Xiamen University.