As aliens who usually arrive irregularly and in an unplanned manner, refugees can present real challenges for host and transit communities and countries alike. What is more, their very existence often represents an implicit criticism of the country that they fled. In general, then, refugees are something of a political hot potato. Moreover, refugee situations have the potential to produce major controversy at the local, national, regional and international levels, with a range of different actors—including the refugees themselves—pursuing often fundamentally incompatible interests.
Set against this unpromising background, it is hardly surprising that the modern refugee regime has been a regular target of criticism. As early as the late 1940s, Soviet States opposed the UN refugee regime, fearing it might prevent perceived “traitors” among refugee populations in Europe being returned to face “justice” in the USSR. Since that time, policymakers and advocates have persistently demanded “reform” of the 1951 Convention on grounds ranging from opposition to the principle of refugee protection through to dismay that this principle has not been fully implemented.
However, as many of the excellent articles posted to this forum show, the refugee regime extends well beyond the 1951 Convention to encompass a range of other norms, policies, institutions and actors. In considering reform of this wider regime, adopting a broader contextual view of the law and politics involved may prove useful.
