Forced Migration Studies: Could We Agree Just to 'Date'?

This essay questions the soundness of a scholarly shift awayfrom ‘refugee studies’ in favour of ‘forcedmigration studies’. It contends, first, that subsumingrefugee studies into the broader framework of forced migrationstudies may result in a failure to take account of the specificityof the refugee's circumstances which are defined not just bymovement to avoid the risk of harm, but by underlying socialdisfranchisement coupled with the unqualified ability of theinternational community to respond to their needs. Second, itargues that forced ‘migration’ (rather than, forexample, forced ‘migrant’) studies encourages afocus on a phenomenon rather than on the personal predicaments,needs, challenges, and rights of refugees themselves. It maythus contribute to a lack of criticality in relation to policieswhich subordinate refugee autonomy to the pursuit of more systemicconcerns. The first concern is illustrated by reference to theemergence of the ‘internally displaced persons’category, the second by reference to the determination to findand mandate ‘durable solutions’ to forced migration,including to the movement of refugees.     

Trading Refugees for Land and Symbols: The Palestinian Negotiation Strategy in the Oslo Process

This article analyses the negotiation strategy of the PalestineLiberation Organization regarding the refugee issue in the failedIsraeli–Palestinian peace process from 1993 to 2001. Itis argued that the PLO was on the brink of conceding the ‘rightof return’ for the sake of territorial concessions fromIsrael. The author discusses the implications of this strategyfor the domestic legitimacy of the Palestinian leadership, asgiving up the right of return would violate a core tenet inPalestinian national mythology. The PLO negotiators tried tosolve that dilemma by, first, separating the principle of returnfrom its implementation—making it possible for the PLOto remain committed to the principle, while offering compromiseson physical return—and, second, by demanding symbolicgestures from Israel, including acknowledgment of Israel's historicresponsibility for the refugee problem. It is argued that Israel'srefusal to offer a minimum of face-saving gestures preventedthe PLO from formalizing its compromise proposal.     

Performance under ambiguity: International organization performance in UN peacekeeping

This article argues that ambiguity—indeterminacy between alternative interpretations of a phenomenon—is inherent in the peace operations field, and makes defining and assessing the UN’s performance problematic. Applying Gutner and Thompson’s framework for international organization performance (IOP) research to UN peacekeeping, it argues further that the relationship between process performance and outcomes in peacekeeping is irreducibly ambiguous, and that ambiguity has significant implications for efforts to measure and improve peacekeeping performance. To demonstrate this, the article reviews methods employed by the UN to measure its peacekeeping performance, arguing that the primary method employed—results-based budgeting (RBB)—is inherently unable to cope with the challenges of performance ambiguity. Its adoption and continued use despite its evident shortcomings are due to RBB’s legitimacy in the wider organizational field of international public management in which the UN Secretariat, and UN peacekeeping, perform. Finally, the article considers recent efforts to improve process performance in UN peacekeeping, and discuss the ways in which so-called ‘integration’ reforms central to such efforts are a means of reducing and managing the ambiguity inherent in peacekeeping.     

More Labels, Fewer Refugees: Remaking the Refugee Label in an Era of Globalization

This paper revisits the concept of refugee labelling I elaboratednearly two decades ago. In radically different conditions, thecontemporary relevance and utility of the concept are re-examinedand re-established. Formulated at a time of regionally contained,mass refugee migration in the south during the late 1970s andearly 1980s, the paper argues that the concept still offersvital insights into the impacts of institutional and bureaucraticpower on the lives of refugees in a globalized era of transnationalsocial transformations, mixed migration flows, and the continuingpresence of large scale refugee migration. The core of the paperargues that the ‘convenient images’ of refugees,labelled within a co-opting humanitarian discourse in the past,have been displaced by a fractioning of the label which is drivenby the need to manage globalized processes and patterns of migrationand forced migration in particular. The paper re-evaluates theconcept using the three original axioms—forming, transformingand politicizing the label ‘refugee’. The core argumentis that in the contemporary era: a) the formation of the refugeelabel reflects causes and patterns of forced migration whichare much more complex than in the past, contrasting with anessentially homogeneous connotation in the past; b) respondingto this complexity, the refugee label is transformed by an institutional‘fractioning’ in order to manage the new migration;c) governments, rather than NGOs as in the past, are the pre-eminentagency in the contemporary processes of transforming the refugeelabel, a process driven by northern interests; d) the refugeelabel has become politicized by the reproduction of institutionalfractioning and by embedding the wider political discourse ofresistance to migrants and refugees.     

Agent permeability, principal delegation and the European Court of Human Rights

A growing body of international relations literature examines the delegation of state authority to international organizations. Delegation is a conditional grant of authority from a principal to an agent in which the latter is empowered to act on behalf of the former. This paper explores the effect of agent permeability to interested third parties on the efficacy of control mechanisms established by principals. Our central argument is that higher levels of agent permeability are likely to lead to higher levels of agent autonomy. Because of this, principals who face a potentially permeable agent are likely to delegate more cautiously—partially, in stages, or with clear limits. We illustrate our argument with a case study of the European Convention of Human Rights and its two principal institutions, the Commission and the Court. We find that principals (contracting states) historically delegated quite cautiously to the Court, clearly concerned about the Court’s autonomy. Court behavior in its first two decades reassured principals while increasing the Court’s permeability. Over time, that increased permeability increased Court autonomy in conjunction with the Court’s growing visibility and experience.

Refugee Returns, Civic Differentiation, and Minority Rights in Croatia 1991-2004

Many studies on refugee returns tend to amalgamate the experiencesof migrants and concentrate on return as an end point of therefugee cycle. In reality, however, returnees do not share thesame experience and endure the effects of their displacementlong after they have returned. This study claims that a moreuseful tool of analysis is to consider both the paths of dislocationand the challenges of return and reintegration. It introducesthe concept of ‘civic differentiation’ as a meansof exploring patterns of return and reintegration in post-warCroatia where returning migrants enjoy vastly different accessto critical resources, above all housing and employment. Thisstudy considers the relevance for reintegration of ethnic identity,property ownership, exit routes and time spent in exile, anddescribes five return scenarios: settlement as ethnic colonization;forcible relocation as a result of regional policies; the returnof retirement; settlement following property repossession; marginalizationand exclusion.     

'No! I'm Not a Refugee!' The Poetics of Be-Longing among Young Oromos in Toronto

This paper presents some findings from an empirical study carriedout with young Oromos living in Toronto. To capture the complexitiesof negotiating be-longing, the paper offers dispersal–affinity—anew conceptual framework empirically grounded in an innovativemethodological design. Using participants' narratives in theempirical material, the paper contests the dualism created betweenessentialist and constructionist perspectives. It employs dispersal–affinityto explore participants' understandings of ‘the refugee’and the wider processes of refugeeization and refugee be-longing.Findings suggest that be-longing is a project of selfhood thatis both fixed and constantly shifting. It is argued that be-longingis constructed from the same movements of selfhood within andthrough social relationships. Young Oromos employ both essentialistand constructionist discourses to weave multiple layers of fixedand mobile be-longing. Implications for refugee studies arediscussed wherein dispersal–affinity is offered to criticallyengage the recent debate on ‘deceit and trickery’among refugees.     

Theoretical and Methodological Challenges of Studying Refugee Children in the Middle East and North Africa: Young Palestinian, Afghan and Sahrawi Refugees

This article aims to address a number of conceptual and methodologicalchallenges facing the study of young refugees. Much of the researchon refugees has, until recently, been focused on adults, andto a lesser degree, on young children. Those studies that doinclude children are largely carried out in the domain of psychologyand psychiatry and tend to pathologize and individualize. Thisarticle is based on observations derived from a six-year, multi-disciplinaryanthropological and participatory research programme that examinedthe impact of forced migration on young people in the MiddleEast and North Africa: Palestinian refugee youth in Lebanon,Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza, Sahrawi youth in Algeria,and Afghan youth in Iran. It argues that despite the challenges,an anthropological and participatory approach contributes toa greater, more holistic understanding of refugee youth.     

Convention Plus as a Norm-Setting Exercise

This article reflects upon UNHCR's Convention Plus initiative,a multi-lateral process established in order to contribute tothe development of a normative framework for global burden-sharing.Although the substantive achievements of the initiative havebeen limited, the article argues that Convention Plus has helpedto develop significant new ideas relating to UNHCR's potentialrole in norm-creation within the refugee regime. Based on aregime theoretical perspective, and drawing on the wider literaturerelating to the role of norms in the refugee regime, the paperexamines the procedural and conceptual innovations of ConventionPlus, and how these might be adapted in future in light of theinitiative's shortcomings. In particular, the article sets outtwo models for UNHCR's role in facilitating norm-creation, bothdeveloped in the context of the Convention Plus experience:firstly, a ‘top-down’ institutional bargaining modeland, secondly, a ‘bottom-up’ good practice model.The former model emerges from the interests–linkages–normsapproach implicit to the so-called ‘generic’ workof the initiative; the latter, from the situational work ofthe initiative, developed through the revival of ‘comprehensiveplans of action’ and the use of pilot projects. The modelsare argued to be mutually supportive. The paper suggests thatadapting these ideal-type models in light of the ConventionPlus experience has implications for UNHCR's role in norm-creation,with regard both to developing a normative framework for globalburden-sharing and also to developing other norms in responseto other emerging challenges.     

The politics of IO performance: A framework

Some international organizations (IOs) are subject to constant criticism for producing poor results while others are praised for accomplishing difficult tasks despite political and resource constraints. Indeed, IO performance varies substantially over time and across tasks, and yet the international relations literature has devoted little attention to why this occurs. This article provides a framework for studying IO performance. After addressing some of the distinct challenges of conceptualizing and analyzing performance in the context of IOs, we discuss the tradeoffs of using different performance metrics—from process indicators to outcome indicators—and present a typology of factors that influence performance. Finally, we discuss research strategies for those interested in studying performance rigorously. The policy relevance of studying IO performance is clear: only if we understand why some IOs perform better than others can we begin to improve their performance in a systematic way. As many organizations come under pressure to reform, while at the same time taking on new and more complicated tasks, scholars should be actively engaged in debates surrounding IO performance and its role in effective governance at the international level.     

Contemporary Compulsory Dispersal and the Absence of Space for the Restoration of Trust

This paper investigates the issue of trust, or mistrust, specificallyin relation to single adult asylum seekers and asylum seekerfamilies compulsorily dispersed across England. It draws upondoctoral research on the social exclusion of asylum seekersas a result of dispersal and their separation from mainstreamwelfare provision due to the creation of the National AsylumSupport Service (NASS) following the Immigration and AsylumAct 1999. Trust is an ambiguous term and four forms of trustare delineated to assist conceptualizing the experience of forcedmigration: social, political, institutional and restorativetrust. This paper provides an overview of the aims and eachphase of the implementation of dispersal. It is argued thatthe dispersal system leaves little room for political or institutionaltrust to be restored and hinders the restoration of social trust.It is suggested that this lack of space for the restorationof trust has negative implications for the longer term resettlementprocess of asylum seekers who obtain refugee status. It is alsosuggested that trust is an essential component of UK governmentpolicies promoting social or community cohesion, community engagementand initiatives to combat trafficking, forced marriage and ‘honour’based violence and that mistrust of asylum seekers as a groupdirectly contradicts such policies and initiatives.     

Sino-Australian Cooperation on Refugee Assistance

The refugee issue is a thorny problem for the Australian government.In recent years before each general election,both the ruling party and the opposition would take advantage of refugee policies to attract votes.As a matter of fact,the refugee issue not only challenges Australian politics,but also Australian foreign relations,especially in the relationship between Australia and East Asian countries.This paper will focus on the influence of the refugee issue on Sino-Australian relations and try to make the recommendation that East Asian nations should resolve the issue by deepening regional cooperation through the AESAN Regional Forum(ARF).     

Modeling alliance membership in a three‐dimensional space

Both Altfeld (1984) and Morrow (1991) offer theoretical foundations that explain why alliances form. Security concerns and autonomy desires are the driving force for the pursuit of allies. While this response explains why states become allies, it does not address which do. To explain with which potential allies states choose to share alliance membership, I construct a three‐dimensional space in which security, autonomy, and political system structure are each represented as one of the three dimensions of ally choice. Every state that shared alliance membership with any other given state from 1946–1992, on a yearly basis, is assigned a unique, tri‐component point in the three‐dimensional space. The distances in the space between each state and all other states’ tri‐component points are calculated, and this distance is then incorporated into a probit estimation of ally choice. By examining the role that security and autonomy trade‐offs and level of political system structure similarity play in determining ally choice, I conclude that two states are more likely to share alliance membership the more symmetrical they are in security and autonomy considerations and the more similar they are in political system structure.     

Researching Refugee Youth in the Middle East: Reflections on the Importance of Comparative Research

This paper reflects on the value of comparative anthropologicalresearch with refugee youth. It examines a participatory researchprogramme in eight field sites in the Middle East and NorthAfrica. While recognizing the importance of the specific socio-politicaland cultural context of the different field sites, it has beenpossible to uncover similarities among refugee youth that wouldhave been missed were it not for the exercise in comparison.What emerges from these findings, within research contexts whichwere viewed, by some, as unique and thus not comparable, arethematic similarities. Characteristic of many young people livingin situations of prolonged forced migration are issues of multipleand conflicting identities and ambivalence to transgressed places;activism; and engagement in activities independent of existinghumanitarian aid structures. Thus it can be seen that comparativestudies can draw out the features and qualities which transcendborders, local cultures and the humanitarian aid regime to displaythe traits in common among refugee youth.     

Cities and sustainability: Southeast Asian and European perspectives

While cities are considered to be inherently unsustainable, these urban human settlements will be where a majority of the population will be living in the next two to three decades. Among the ten largest cities in the world in terms of population sizes, three are in Southeast Asia alone and more than one in two people will be living in cities in 2025. These primate cities—Metro-Manila in the Philippines, Jakarta in Indonesia and Bangkok in Thailand—are seeing not only rapid rates of in-migration but also rapid expansion and urban sprawl. Such rapid rates of change pose growing challenges to Southeast Asian cities including smaller capital cities like Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore. The strongest challenge concern infrastructural provision and particularly that provided for urban transport and mobility. Urban traffic congestion is an issue that is common to most Southeast Asian cities including Singapore which has introduced relatively draconian policy measures to both contain the level of car ownership and the use of the car. A comparison with several European cities highlight where Southeast Asian cities can review their own urban transport policies. This paper focuses on the lessons that can be learnt from a comparative study of the infrastructural provision and public policies that are in place in Southeast Asian and European cities.     

Is Fair Trade a fair deal?

Globalization contributes to a more interconnected global economy. This gives rise to greater challenges to providing a theory of global justice that can account for increasing complexities. Nicole Hassoun defends a powerful and distinctive contribution that claims that coercive institutions in the global order must secure sufficient autonomy to be legitimate because they are coercive. Fair Trade strategies are an illustration of a policy proposal for how globalization can be transformed into global justice. This article examines the issue of how much autonomy is ‘sufficient’ and whether a resource-based solution, like Fair Trade, is likely to contribute to that project. It is argued that the threshold for sufficient autonomy is too imprecise and much more than Fair Trade policies is required if global trade is to become a fairer deal for all.     

Linkages Methodology: No Man is an Island

The paper argues that given the diversity of the field of forcedmigration, research requires a multi-disciplinary approach andan awareness of the multiplicity of interacting factors whichcome into play. It examines two key texts published 20 yearsapart which exemplify the linkages approach. Imposing Aid (1986)studied the developing situation in Sudan as refugees arrivedfrom Uganda in the early 1980s, and showed the unproductivenature of interactions between officials and refugees. Landscapeof Hope and Despair (2005) examined the situation of Palestiniansin refugee camps, where the refugees’ own agency comesup against the structural constraints of camp administrationand the political actions of local and international power holders.     

Ethical predicaments for anthropologists: the Peruvian case

This article discusses the ethical challenges posed to anthropologists working as experts in mining companies and in tourism. It proposes alternative solutions that are coherent with the ethical principles of their discipline.     

Contingent Borders, Ambiguous Ethics: Migrants in (International) Political Theory

The article engages a critical analysis of liberal theory in the context of transnational migration. Normative arguments provided by liberal-cosmopolitan and liberal-communitarian authors are contrasted. While sympathetic to such approaches, we argue that traditional liberal theory has attempted to downplay the contingency and resultant ambiguity of many of its moral precepts. Historically contingent borders underpin neat universal categories like "citizen" and "refugee," which fail to reflect the diverse and contested experiences of migration. But such ambiguities need not undermine liberal approaches. Indeed, a proper engagement with the problematic and uncertain realities of migration can provide a spur to a more thoroughgoing ethical praxis. We draw on the philosophical pragmatism of Richard Rorty to outline an approach to migration that remains open to the contingent construction of terms like "migrant,""refugee," and "asylum-seeker." By extending Rorty's concept of sentimental education, we provide an imaginative and politically challenging set of agendas for the ethics of migration.