An analysis of the role of contextual factors on civil society organisations on matters of refugee and migration policy

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are key actors in the conceptualisation, practice and debate on international protection. Their work with refugees and migrants is extensive and varied, at local, national and international levels. In this report, we consider the extent to which we can understand these various actions through reference to contextual factors, most notably the cleavage model of protection. This model places dispositions towards international protection within a broader set of political and social attitudes, turning principally on the extent to which individuals and groups view national communities as open, inclusive and connected to international society. Building on an extensive data set created by the PROTECT project, the report argues that to a very marked extent this model does predict when, why and how CSOs engage with issues of international protection. The report starts with a short presentation of the cleavage model of international protection and the theoretical application to CSO activity. The rest of the document provides an analysis of the data set previously presented, with regard to a
number of key areas where the cleavage model shapes CSOs: group mobilisation; the extent of their focus on international protection issues; engagement with, and attitudes towards, the Global Compacts on Refugees and on Migration (GCR and GCM), and; the relative weight of cleavages compared to two other major factors for CSOs, namely resourcing and opportunity structures. After the conclusion, a number of policy implications for public bodies are set out.