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Reflection Paper
On
Who is a Refugee? By (Andrew Shacknove)
Muhammad Qasim Zia
Student ID: 4133471
Word counted (1508)

Summer 2016
Humanitarian Issues in International Affairs
Refugees and Migration
(INTL 5700)

Summary

This essay is on Andrew Shacknoves article who is a refugee. Written in 1986 the article
attempted to define the term and conception of refugee. Shacknove built his arguments on the
basis of definitions of refugees offered by the United Nations convention and the Organization of
African Unity. Further, in the article he delineated the conception of refugeehood, while
discussing concepts like persecution and alienage. He criticized both the principle as necessary
conditions of refugeehood. A states ability to protect basic needs of its people is main argument
of Shacknove. This article mirrored the behavior of the states toward citizens which may guide to
refugeehood. Furthermore, Shacknove discussed several points on the basis of which claims to
refugeehood are generated. At last he suggested the process and method of granting refugee to a
person.

Essay
Shacknove in who is a refugee firstly differentiated between conception and definition of
refugee. According to him determining conceptually we can define a refugee as a person who
flees away from life intimidating conditions. This definition in regular terminology and of
journalistic objectives serves the meaning of refuge hood. In legal and political spheres for those
who articulate the refugee policies these meanings are more confined. According to his definition
of refugee given by international agencies apparently resolved the problem, but these fixtures are
illusory.
Various states have their own practicing definitions of refugee. Many states follow the definition
of the UN sponsored convention. The 1951 UN Convention defines a refugee as a person who
owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for certain reasons such as race, religion,
nationality, social or political affiliation is outside the country of his nationality. According to
Shacknove normative character of the refugeehood narrative in UN convention is based on
certain postulations.
(a)

A bond of trust, loyalty, protection and assistance between citizen and state
constitutes the normal basis of political society;

(b)

In the case of the refugee, this bond has been severed;

(c)

Persecution and alienage are always the physical manifestations of this severed bond;

(d)

These manifestations are necessary and sufficient conditions for determining refuge
hood.

For Shacknove, definition of refugee embraced by the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
defies the persecution as a necessary condition of refugeehood. Definition of OAU when joined

with persecution centered definition states that: "The term 'refugee' shall also apply to every
person who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously
According to Shacknove OAU definition is more influential as compare to UN convention.
Definition by OAU recognizes the fact that a state and its citizens can be disengaged in various
ways. Prosecution serves only as one feature of a broader phenomenon. UN sponsored definition
for Shacknove is too narrow. This impression has been supported by many scholars working on
refugee crisis.
Shacknove contended that UN description of refugee hood is insufficient. To describe this
inadequacy in the UN definition he gave two major reasons. Firstly, to serve a normal political
relation persecution counts as sufficient condition rather as a necessary condition of refugeehood.
Persecution amounts as one aspect of state being absent to protect the basic needs of its citizens.
Secondly, Shacknove considered that alienage too is not an essential condition of refugee hood.
It is one dimension of a broader assemblage: the physical account of the global community to the
vulnerable individual.
Therefore, Shacknove suggests a more invulnerable account of refugee hood:
One whose basic needs are unprotected by their country of origin, who has no remaining
recourse other than to seek international restitution of their needs, and who are so situated
that international assistance is possible. (Shacknove, 1986)
This basic needs conception of refugeehood has been presented as an alteration of dual extremes
which Shacknove thought as tyranny and chaos. This basic need account of refugeehood do not
threaten normal, minimal connections of a society. Further, this idea has a solid claim to moral
legitimacy.

Shacknove viewed that identification of the progressive relation of a state and its citizen is
necessary to observe the negation of society in all of its manifestations. People outside of the
state border can face insecurity. People desire to decrease their weakness of threats. Therefore
the goal of civil society is linked with peoples security to each other. This reflects the main
premise of the statehood. The refugee policy circles, divide basic threats which an individual can
confront into three kinds.

Persecution
Natural Calamities
Vital economic subsistence

In order to define refugee the difference between these categories is not clear. Three of these
count as a sufficient situation for refugeehood. They can equally defy citizens intricate
justification of joining society. Any of these kind can create enough claims for refugeehood.
Shacknoves criticism of persecution as one manifestation of the absence of physical security
rests on certain grounds. These grounds are protection of citizens from foreign invasion, war,
genocide, terrorism, and kidnapping. If these grounds which count as a threshold of a state and
its bonding with citizens are neglected then there is no state. On the basis of these other physical
threats Shacknove denies persecution as a necessary condition of refugee hood.
Natural disasters cannot be overlooked while determining the claims of refugee hood. "Natural
disasters" are frequently complicated by human actions. Shacknove demonstrated that the
destruction caused by natural disaster such as flood and dearth can be curtailed by social and
political institutions. If a state left its citizens vulnerable to natural disasters generates the claim
to refugeehood.

Threats to vital subsistence are subject to the same logic. The assertion that state cannot be
blamed for providing minimal subsistence beyond its resources. Shacknove provided three
necessary conditions to accomplish the subsistence needs.
a) Technology for processing resources,
b) Infrastructure for facilitating commerce
c) Method of distribution.
Shacknove considered these conditions under human control.

These conditions, intensely

threaten subsistence while compared with a genuine shortage of resources. To sustain existence
huge capital, specialized knowledge and gallant governments efforts are not required. What is
required is infrastructure which may work as a reasonable tool for dispensation a resource, and a
path may suffice as a conduit for commerce. Likewise an acceptable method of dissemination is
reliable in term wealth inequities. In states where technological deficiencies, poor infrastructure
and inadequate distribution persist and subsistence is threatened by any of these, a justified
prerogative to refugeehood results.
Citizens loyalty to state in return expects security, freedom and political involvement. If the state
fails to provide its citizen facilities than social compact has no meanings. Shacknove maintains
that a refugee is a person whose home state fails to provide basic needs. As these needs are
essential for living and deprivation from these generates a solid claim to refugeehood.
After discussing claims for refugeehood Shacknove retorted to the question of all persons
deprived of their basic needs in no. Refugees are those persons who are denied of one or more
of the rudimentary needs but not all persons disadvantaged are counted as refugees. This
distinction is made on the basis of their relation to the international community. A person denied

to basic needs are prevented by his government cannot count as a refugee. Contrary to this
refugee is person whose government fails to provide him basic needs and who has persuaded the
international assistance. Therefore entitlements for refugees as compare to a person deprived of
do not matter rather objective conditions are important.
According to Shacknove due to objective conditions principle of alienage staggers. For a long
time migration from international border was considered as a feature of refugeehood. This
conception has originated from the positivistic legal theory. In the framework of refugee affairs
this theory asserts that a victim can become international extent when he is out of jurisdiction of
the home government.

Furthermore, Shacknove stated migration distinct to refugeehood.

Refugeehood solely constitutes states and its citizens relationship. Refugeehood is a kind of
vulnerable statelessness. Alienage should be contemplated as one indicator of a broader category.
Therefore, to determine the refugees status inclination of the home government to international
services and its failure to stop such assistance are considered. If refugee status is granted in case,
while basic needs are not in danger the legality of refugee, policy is compromised.
Shacknoves account of the basic needs to individual is incorporated as main argument, but he
did not explain the basic needs in detail. Further, he placed all responsibility on the state in terms
of its behavior to citizens. At this point Shacknove did not assert the structure of the international
system under which all states work. He went against the UN convention demands that a refugee
should be out of his home country. In Shacknove approach individual must be in a position of
restitution. Apart from some gaps this article has been widely appreciated and cited by many
scholars in their work on refugees issue. The main idea of article revolves around the duties and
rights which link state and citizens into a mutual relationship. The legitimacy of a state rests into
protection and fulfillment of its citizens basic needs.