RT Article T1 Trafficking and Syrian refugee smuggling: evidence from the Balkan Route A1 Mandic, Danilo LA English YR 2017 UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1588526577 AB As of March 2016, 4.8 million Syrian refugees were scattered in two dozen countries by the civil war. Refugee smuggling has been a major catalyst of human trafficking in the Middle East and Europe migrant crises. Data on the extent to which smuggling devolved into trafficking in this refugee wave is, however, scarce. This article investigates how Syrian refugees interact with smugglers, shedding light on how human smuggling and human trafficking interrelated on the Balkan Route. I rely on original evidence from in-depth interviews (n = 123) and surveys (n = 100) with Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and Germany; as well as ethnographic observations in thirty-five refugee camps or other sites in these countries. I argue that most smugglers functioned as guides, informants, and allies in understudied ways—thus refugee perceptions diverge dramatically from government policy assumptions. I conclude with a recommendation for a targeted advice policy that would acknowle K1 Menschenhandel K1 Schmuggel K1 Verbrechensbekämpfung K1 Asylrecht K1 Migration K1 Flucht K1 Syrien K1 Beratung K1 Migrationspolitik K1 Balkanroute DO 10.17645/si.v5i2.917