"We live in a country of UNHCR" The UN surrogate state and refugee policy in the Middle East

This article begins with an overview of the origins of responsibility shift, and offers some
observations about some of the debates and critiques that have developed around the
issue. I then attempt to develop a theory about the role of the UN surrogate state in
refugee policy in Arab states. I then highlight some of the major limitations on the UN as
a substitute for states, and attempt to propose ways that UNHCR can more effectively use limited responsibility shift as a refugee protection strategy.