The Limits of an International Burdensharing Approach: Syrian Refugee Protection Crisis and its Consequences

This article analyses the consequences of the Syrian refugee protection crisis on the development of an effective international burden-sharing approach. It argues that despite the proven necessity of developing effective burden-sharing mechanisms at the EU and international levels, the Syrian refugee protection crisis has shown that limited progress has been achieved both at the international and the regional levels. This article brings these discussions under a systematic framework to show how the Syrian refugee crisis can provide an opportunity and also a challenge for the development of an effective and durable international burdensharing approach. The primary objective of this research is to review Turkey’s experience with the Syrian refugees. The lack of commitment for international burden-sharing puts refugee-receiving countries under immense financial, political and social pressures, which have direct consequences on the humanitarian assistance that refugees can receive. Taking one such refugee hosting country, Turkey, as an example, this research investigates responses given to refugee protection at an international leve