‘But we have to be realistic’: examining the origins of temporary protection in the USA and European Union

Abstract Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the consequences of temporary protection regimes in contemporary refugee policy became more acute. This article examines the origins and development of temporary protection in the USA and the European Union from a historical and comparative perspective. By analyzing US congressional documents and EU parliamentary papers, we explore the original political debates in both regions in the 1980s and 1990s. We argue refugee advocates in the USA championed the creation of this new status, while those in the EU expressed skepticism that this would erode the 1951 Refugee Convention. The political calculus in the USA made temporary protection a seemingly limited and winnable accomplishment amid an anti-refugee climate, whereas advocates in the EU feared creating a new prolonged limbo category for refugees. With more people than ever before living under ‘temporary protection’, it is worth re-assessing its origins and the advantages and the limitations of temporary protection.