Reluctant Reception

Seeking to understand why host states treat migrants and refugees inclusively, exclusively, or without any direct engagement, Kelsey P. Norman offers this original, comparative analysis of the politics of asylum seeking and migration in the Middle East and North Africa. While current classifications of migrant and refugee engagement in the Global South mistake the absence of formal policy and law for neglect, Reluctant Reception proposes the concept of 'strategic indifference', where states proclaim to be indifferent toward migrants and refugees, thereby inviting international organizations and local NGOs to step in and provide services on the state's behalf. Using the cases of Egypt, Morocco and Turkey to develop her theory of 'strategic indifference', Norman demonstrates how, by allowing migrants and refugees to integrate locally into large informal economies, and by allowing organizations to provide basic services, host countries receive international credibility while only exerting minimal state resources.

'Norman makes a convincing case for rethinking and retheorizing the role of so-called 'transit countries' … Introducing the concept of 'strategic indifference', and constructing a detailed comparison based on a wealth of original fieldwork, Norman demonstrates why governments of the Global South … should be viewed as central and intentional actors in a complex relationship between them, the migrants, and the many international organizations involved in migration and refugee governance.' Laurie Brand, University of Southern California, 'In Reluctant Reception, Norman gives us an in-depth look at how Turkey and countries in the Middle East and North Africa are coping with increasingly large and settled populations of migrants and refugees. Anyone seeking to understand the volatile politics of migration in the region must read this book.' James F. Hollifield, Southern Methodist University, 'Norman advances a novel and insightful argument about refugee and migrant accommodation in the Global South. While most literature focuses on host society acceptance or rejection of migrants, Norman argues for a third option, 'strategic indifference'. The book's arguments are supported by excellent elite interviews and case studies of Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey.' Amaney A. Jamal, Princeton University, 'This easily accessible volume presents a sophisticated and nuanced theoretical argument and is a major contribution to the literature on migration.' H. Shambayati, Choice

Kelsey P. Norman is a Fellow for the Middle East and Director of the Women's Rights, Human Rights and Refugees program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California Irvine.