The EU׳s Regional Refugees Approach

A Contesting, yet, Promising Approach

Absztrakt

The European Union has drawn on its migration policy in the Middle East and North Africa as a method of region-building that sets resilience as the “Governing Rationale״ to respond to crises. The Central theme of resilience is keeping the refugees closer to their home instead of flowing to Europe. This approach might be promising, yet, it has contesting effects. In the absence of adequate resources, resilience building may exacerbate the economic, political and social vulnerabilities already existing in these countries. In addition, resilience does not seem to put an end to those refugees' suffering, this, in turn, leads to a level of mobilization to demand better services, which could ultimately turn to violent riots that endanger the security of these states. Hence, resilience may seem jeopardizing rather than safeguarding the security of these hosts. However, building on the case of displacement from Syria, the article targets the EU’s refugee approach in its neighborhood, and employs in-depth analysis for the EU׳s refugee cooperation with Jordan, one of the key regional hosts to argue that resilience might be a contesting approach, however, the EU and Jordan are working to make it promising. Their focus is to keep a balance between refugees and local communities. More importantly, resilience׳s role in preserving Jordan's economic, social stability and social cohesion, makes it more promising approach than providing humanitarian assistance.