UC Santa Barbara

This thesis seeks to address two main issues. First, how have the recent rise of

populist-nationalism and the elections of populist-nationalist governments challenged the

international refugee rights regime? Second, how have humanitarian non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) responded to new anti-refugee policies, and what does this mean for their

position within civil society? To answer these questions, this project offers a comparative study

between the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump and Italy under the

administration of Deputy Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini. By analyzing government and

NGO policies for both cases in response to the European refugee crisis and the rise of

asylum-seekers from Central America, this thesis concludes that humanitarian NGOs have

undergone fundamental shifts in operations in response to these populist-nationalist administrations

and their undermining of the refugee rights regime. Among these changes include the increasing

fulfillment of refugee rights obligations by humanitarian NGOs themselves in place of the national

government and a turn away from political neutrality within humanitarian organizations. This paper

concludes by discussing what policy changes should be made at the international, state, and NGO

level in order to best protect refugee rights and NGO operations