The crisis of the refugee: an exploration of why nations have chosen to either admit or prohibit refugees entrance in times of crisis
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Abstract
Refugee policies are the policies that are most sensitive to times of crisis. Refugee outcomes are largely determined by the immigration policies that they face in host nations during times of conflict. Political scientists have answered the question, “How is refugee policy formed?” and have arrived at the two avenues by which refugee policies are formed. These two avenues are isolated government action and public opinion. Few have examined the possible causal forces behind the actions taken within each avenue. This analysis aims to shed light on the forces that drive isolated government action such as security concerns and ideology held by government officials, as well as the forces that drive public opinion such as racial and cultural differences and the perceived economic impact of refugees acceptance in the host nation. The exploration of these possible causal factors can help to isolate similarities across nations, crises, and time. If similarities are present, then it is possible to formulate effective solutions that target these causal factors.