Syrian refugees in Jordan and their integration in the labour market: Jordanian migration diplomacy and EU incentives

Framing the analysis in Jordan’s foreign and security policy, this article discusses Jordanian migration diplomacy in relation to incentives offered by the EU. It is demonstrated that the unstable situation resulting from the long-lasting Syrian crisis has created a need for the Jordanian state to develop new political strategies, adjusting institutional policies and practices to the EU’s conditionalities regarding democratic progress and socio-economic reforms. The article takes its point of departure in the concept of migration diplomacy and bases its analysis of how the Jordanian government has developed its institutional flexibility on the theory of historical institutionalism.