SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Why do states respond differently to conflict-generated migration crises across space and time? Building on valuable existing literature, this article offers a new conceptual typology of “situational strategic contexts” (SSCs). It hypothesizes that the interactions between the host state's domestic-political and international-strategic priorities generate different SSCs that shape policy responses. These contexts favor either accommodation, toleration, or repatriation of migrants and are implemented with or without support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Sensitive to the history and future ambitions of a country, this framework demonstrates how an interplay between domestic and international-strategic logics at specific historical moments influences state behavior toward conflict-generated migration. The SSC framework is developed inductively using evidence from India, a democracy in the global south, which hosts conflict-evading migrants from many neighboring countries.