Domestic Violence, Refugee Flows, and International Tension: The Case of EI Salvador

Abstract

When viewed as a political problem rather than as a humanitarian or legal issue, refugee flows present many potential challenges to state pQlicy-makers. Challenges to decision-making autonomy are among the most significant of these. Such challenges arise because of the ability of refugee flows to exacerbate international tensions and contribute to increased levels of domestic violence. They pose an especially severe problem where political development is weak and the expansion of state autonomy isa critical issue for policy-makers. In states that are hostile to one another, it is obvious that refugee flows are likely to take on a political rather than humanitarian dimension. The receiving state will at the very least use the refugees for propaganda purposes. It might be expected that when the sending and receiving states are friendly or at least ideologically compatible, any response to refugees will be humanitarian in nature. However, where the cause of the refugee flow is domestic repression and violence, the response to the flow is likely to be politicized. The tensions acccompanying refugee flows can be organized around the issue of decision-making autonomy. By far those tensions surround ing foreign policy options present the greatest potential for creating and exacerbat ing regional tension, because they most directly involve the refugee in the power calculations made by states regarding their ability to realize national security ob jectives. In states where decision-making autonomy is weak, policy-makers react to challenges to their authority by evoking national security whenever possible. By emphasizing threats to security, they can unite elite groups and justify repressive solutions to problems. Refugees fleeing repression in a neighbouring state present challenges to decision-making autonomy and potentially threaten national security in the receiving state. To the extent that policy-makers in the receiving state have developed a habit of geopolitical thinking, they are likely to respond to the refugees primarily as a threat to national security. The most m mediate victims are the refugees themselves, but the potential is created for in creased regional violence. This phenomenon is illustrated by the flow of refugees from El Salvador into Honduras. Language: en