ABSTRACT
This study examines how UNHCR’s inclusive refugee education policy is legitimised and contested in host states, and what structural dilemmas constrain its implementation, focusing on Syrian refugees’ education in Lebanon. Drawing on institutional legitimacy and realist institutionalism, the study is based on qualitative interviews and policy analysis. The findings reveal a persistent deficit in cognitive legitimacy, as the policy’s assumption of long-term refugee integration conflicts with the objectives of national education systems and host-state priorities. At the same time, pragmatic legitimacy remains fragile, as it depends on externally contingent funding and shifting geopolitical priorities. Under these conditions, Lebanon strategically deploys sovereignty to shape and constrain policy implementation. The study further demonstrates that legitimacy dynamics shape the processes through which policy is adopted, adapted and constrained, and in turn structure the interplay between cooperation and competition in refugee education governance. It contributes by showing how legitimacy and power asymmetries jointly influence policy outcomes, and by calling for more flexible, context-sensitive policy frameworks, diversified funding mechanisms and strengthened global responsibility-sharing.