The external dimension of EU migration policy as region-building? Refugee cooperation as contentious politics

Figures & data

Table 1. Contentious refugee politics between Lebanon and the EU.

Means	Tactical performances	Policy objectives	Underlying motives
Critical rhetoric	Referring to the ‘toll of displacement’ and Lebanon’s limited capacities Criticizing EU search for prospects in regions of origin Calling out the EU on limited burden-sharing	Signalling tensions and overstretched capacity Leveraging ‘hospitality’ Justifying non-compliance with commitments	Attracting more international aid Asserting the legitimacy of Lebanon’s decision-making vis-a-vis asylum Obscuring accountability and shifting the blame
Adapting EU refugee tools	Shifting the gaze to ‘host’ and ‘working’ population Ensuring that the EU acknowledge refugee presence as ‘temporary’ Decoupling refugee aid from trade Calling for redirecting aid to Syria	Claiming its role as a ‘policy shaper’ Asserting local practices and legacies	Strengthening ruling coalitions’ communal base Resisting pressures to improve asylum system Bolstering the legitimacy of the Syrian regime
Dismissing EU tools and stances	Reversing previously adopted pledges Engaging in actions disregarding EU positions.	Elusive policy-making	Avoiding reform