From protection to persecution: Threat environment and refugee scapegoating
| Author | Burcu Savun,Christian Gineste |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343318811432 |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Research Articles |
From protection to persecution: Threat
environment and refugee scapegoating
Burcu Savun
Department of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Christian Gineste
Department of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Abstract
The security consequences associated with refugee flows are amongthe most widely studied aspectsof forced migration.
While the majority of this researchprogram has focused on how refugee movements affectthe risk of political violence,
scant scholarly attention has been paid to violence perpetrated against refugees. Building upon the state repression
literature, we argue that refugees are particularly vulnerable to the violation of their physical integrity rights in the wake
of terroristattacks in host states.Governments arepressured to respondto security crises but preferto take actions without
jeopardizingpublic support.In this context, refugeegroups can be strategicallyattractive targetsof repression because they
lack electoral power and citizens are often supportive of government crackdown against foreigners in times of security
crises. Given that leaders have stronger incentives to respond to voters’ demands quickly in democracies, we expect the
effect ofterror attacks on violenceagainst refugees tobe stronger in democratichost states. Using a novelglobal dataset on
anti-refugee violence between 1996 and 2015, we show that refugees are more likely to be exposed to violence by the
coercive agentsof the state in the wake of security crises.We provide suggestive evidencethat the repression of refugeesis
more consistent with a scapegoating mechanism than the actual ties and involvement of refugees in terrorism. The
findingsreveal that the well-beingof uprooted populations is particularly at risk whenhost countries face a securitythreat.
Keywords
refugees, scapegoating, threat environment, violence against refugees
Introduction
The security consequences associated with refugee flows
are among the most widely studied aspects of forced
migration. There is a large body of literature suggesting
that refugee groups are associated with an increased risk of
interstate war, civil war, terrorism, and communal vio-
lence (Choi & Salehyan, 2013; Fisk,2014, 2018; Lischer,
2003, 2005; Salehyan & Gleditsch, 2006; Salehyan,
2008, 2009; Whitaker, 2003; Zolberg, Suhrke & Aguayo,
1989). However, while this research program by andlarge
implies that refugee flows create conditions that increase
the risk of political violence, it does not pay sufficient
attention to the dynamics of violence against refugees.
1
This is unfortunate because violence ‘against’refugees is as
much if not more widespread than violence ‘by’ refugees
(Onoma, 2013). Our study is an attempt to address this
lacuna by identifying when host states are likely to violate
the physical integrity of refugees within their borders.
We argue that the security environment in which host
states operate is a major determinant of their treatment
of refugees. Specifically, we expect host states to violate
the physical integrity of their refugee populations in the
wake of terror attacks. Our argument is based on the
widely supported empirical observation that states usu-
ally respond to security threats with repression
Corresponding author:
burcu@pitt.edu
1
For exceptions, see Onoma (2013); Cue
´llar (2006).
Journal of Peace Research
2019, Vol. 56(1) 88–102
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343318811432
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