The United States and the European Refugee Crisis: Standing with Allies

The US-European relationship remains a cornerstone of American security and prosperity. It is never in America’s interest to remain a bystander when Europe’s cohesion is under threat. The refugee crisis in Europe is such a threat. This report outlines a strategy for American leadership to help Europe turn this crisis into an opportunity by providing American help in refugee resettlement, aid to the front line states in the Middle East, and co-operation with European allies to secure Europe’s maritime borders and save refugee lives. This report, prepared by a team from the Harvard Kennedy School for the Richard Holbrooke Forum on Diplomacy at the American Academy in Berlin, builds on the conclusions of a joint meeting with the Brookings Institution on the European Refugee Crisis held in Washington, DC in February 2016. It also supplements an earlier report, by the same team, published by the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School in January 2016.