International Refugee Regime: An Analysis of Regime Effectiveness through the Afghanistan Case

Abstract

The international refugee regime has promoted the voluntary repatriation as the most preferred durable solution since the beginning of the 1990s and aimed to provide sustainability of these repatriations through increasing its activities in the countries of origin under the notion of 4Rs since 2002. Though there are positive and negative arguments regarding the “solution” strategy in the literature, the success of the regime on this strategy has not been examined in an analytical way. This article analytically questions regime effectiveness in terms of voluntariness and sustainability, through examining mass repatriations to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2010. It concludes that international refugee regime is not effective in the Afghan case and for a more effective refugee regime, it suggests an interstate cooperation based on common humanitarian consciousness, rather than common interests.

Keywords

International Refugee Regime, UNHCR, Regime Effectiveness, Voluntary Repatriation, Afghanistan

Citation

Güler, Arzu, “International Refugee Regime: An Analysis of Regime Effectiveness through the Afghanistan Case”, International Relations, Volume 9, Issue 36 (Winter 2013), pp. 101-127.

Affiliations

• Arzu Güler, PhD Candidate, Research Assistant, Bilkent University, Department of International Relations & Adnan Menderes University, Department of International Relations