Resettlement, Populism and the Multiple Dimensions of Solidarity: Lessons from US and Canada

Resettlement is the selection and transfer of refugees from a State in which they have sought protection to a third State which has agreed, voluntarily, to admit them. Since resettlement is subject to State planning and control, it is usually immune from current populist narratives that depicts immigration as contrary to national interests. By looking at the experience of both US and Canada, the paper argues that this is not always the case. Resettlement involves not only an international dimension of solidarity, but also an intra-national one which, in turn, is both vertical and horizontal. The former refers to the role of the subnational units with regard to the selection and the distribution of refugees crossover the country, while the latter relates to the involvement of civil society in some elements of their identification or reception. A lack of coordination among these multiple dimensions of solidarity may result in local resistances that in the long run can influence the enforcement of national resettlement policy.