UNHCR–state relations: transfer of authority over refugee status determination

Abstract In over 50 states, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conducts refugee status determination (RSD) but engages in various ‘capacity building’ initiatives to ultimately transfer or ‘hand over’ authority over RSD to states. In this article, we examine the recently concluded RSD-handover process in Turkey as a case study to analyse the power dynamics between UNHCR and states. Drawing on constructionist theories of international organizations and practice theory, we examine handovers as the interplay between UNHCR promoting RSD norms and practices and states’ interpretation and adaptation of the latter. Based on desk-based research and interviews with UNHCR officials, we outline the RSD-handover in Turkey in three stages and show that both parties engage in ongoing negotiations within an evolving community of practice. Using a multifaceted theorization of authority, we argue that even if formally delegated authority over RSD is transferred, the broader authority and power relations operate in a co-constituted way between the two parties.