Subtracting Development through the Production of Il/legality of Young Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

This article examines how the production of legality and illegality shapes the experiences and developmental possibilities of young Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. It highlights that refugees’ legal statuses are constructed through intersecting national and international security and economic interests, resulting in constrained access to education, employment, and social participation despite humanitarian-development nexus policies aimed at fostering self-reliance. Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative research, the article reveals that maintaining or losing legal residency involves significant labor and uncertainty, which, combined with restrictive host country policies, leads to debilitation rather than empowerment or meaningful development. The analysis calls for a critical rethinking of development in protracted displacement contexts, emphasizing the need for refugee-centered approaches that move beyond humanitarian compromises and address structural barriers embedded in legal status regimes.