Supporting Without Steering: The Role of International Actors in Colombia's Policy on Venezuelan Displacement

Abstract

Research on the role of international organisations (IOs) and donors in migration governance has largely focused on low-income countries, while Latin America remains underrepresented despite the importance of its middle-income states in responding to large-scale displacement. This article examines Colombia's Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants (TPS), introduced in 2021 to grant Venezuelan nationals legal status, rights, and a pathway to permanent residency. Drawing on 65 interviews with policymakers and representatives of IOs and aid agencies, as well as policy documents, it analyses how Colombian authorities, IOs, and donors jointly shaped the policy. The findings show that international actors contributed through financial assistance, ideational framing, knowledge provision, and capacity-building. Yet Colombian authorities retained policy ownership, selectively adapting and mobilising international resources to advance domestically defined objectives. The article demonstrates how extensive international involvement and domestic ownership can coexist, challenging portrayals of Southern states as reactive to external agendas.