Journal of Refugee Studies - current issue

Early Repatriation Policy: Russian Refugee Return 1922-1924

Long, K. — 2009-06-10

The repatriation of Russian refugees from Bulgaria between 1922 and 1924 under League of Nations’ supervision represents the earliest international attempt to organize a co-ordinated refugee return. Drawing on new archival research, this article argues that enhanced understandings of the historical development of repatriation contribute to the contemporary political theorization of repatriation. It demonstrates the long-standing liberal-international commitment to the ethical corollaries of ‘voluntariness’, ‘safety’ and ‘protection’ in repatriation, despite the manipulation of these terms by political émigré groups interested in resisting Soviet state power. This exposes the complex connections between the early 20th-century rise of the sovereign European nation-state and consequent refugee exodus. Repatriation was thus a fundamentally political project concerned with restoring the relations between state, nation and citizen: it ultimately failed in the Russian–Bulgarian case not because of any disagreement over repatriation's liberal corollaries, but because of disputes between the League of Nations, the Soviet State and the Russian refugees themselves regarding the nature of both inter-state and intra-state sovereignty. The article concludes by suggesting that it is these questions of political community which continue to pose the greatest challenge to repatriation as a durable solution to contemporary refugee crises.

Legal and Institutional Dimensions of Protecting and Assisting Internally Displaced Persons in Africa

Abebe, A. M. — 2009-06-10

Owing partly to changes at the international level and to humanitarian reform within the UN, an internationalization of the problem of internal displacement is now a reality and organizations such as UNHCR are operationally involved in providing assistance and protection to internally displaced persons (IDPs). Regional institutions including peacekeeping and peace building arrangements have become vital institutional responses. Relevant literature and policy guidelines may well be faulted for ignoring the role of regional organizations. In Africa, where a disproportionate number of IDPs are present, strengthening these mechanisms is urgent. This paper traces the normative and institutional evolution of the regional response to internal displacement in Africa, and argues that institution building and consolidation of standards should be made a priority. The African Union's current effort to craft the first ever binding regional IDP convention, though a salutary development, should not deflect such priority.

Masculinity on Unstable Ground: Young Refugee Men in Nairobi, Kenya

Jaji, R. — 2009-06-10

A gender perspective in refugee studies usually conjures up images of refugee women. Such images are an outcome of the association of vulnerability with women and children. Yet, it is not only refugee women who face monumental challenges in the country of asylum; refugee men also encounter a wide range of problems. Exile comes with obstacles for refugee men's quest to conform to culturally defined masculinity. This paper presents the nature of the challenges young refugee men predominantly from the Great Lakes region face in exile and the struggles they engage in as they seek to maintain and live up to their pre-flight notions of masculinity. The paper also shows how the men create alternative masculinities that are sustainable in a context that is largely characterized by existential uncertainties.

Constructing the Personal Narratives of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Asylum Claimants

Berg, L., Millbank, J. — 2009-06-10

This article draws upon psychological and sociological literature to explore the issues that arise in eliciting and presenting a refugee narrative when the claim is based upon sexual orientation. Rigid notions of homosexual identity may consciously or subconsciously shape decision-makers’ approaches in this field. First, we identify psycho-social issues of particular significance to lesbian, gay and bisexual claimants which may act as barriers to eliciting their narrative of self-identity, including: a reluctance to reveal group membership as the basis of a claim, the experience of passing or concealment strategies, the impact of shame and depression on memory, common experience of sexual assault, and sexualization of the identity narrative in the legal process. Secondly, we explore factors which inhibit the reception of such narratives in the legal process. In particular we explore the psychological ‘stage model’ of sexual identity development and examine the pervasive impact this model has had upon decision-makers’ ‘pre-understanding’ of sexual identity development as a uniform and linear trajectory.

A Rare Examination of Typically Unobservable Factors in US Asylum Decisions

Keith, L. C., Holmes, J. S. — 2009-06-10

The United States has obligations under international law and US statutory law to adhere to the legal principle of nonrefoulement to consider asylum claims. Under these laws, a person who qualifies as a refugee may be eligible for asylum and may avoid being deported to his or her country of origin if the applicant meets specific legal requirements. Because of congressional limitations to asylum case information, few studies have used individual level data and none have been able to include evidentiary factors or applicant characteristics. Using an original database of asylum applicants from a Dallas, Texas based NGO we examine individual, case and country factors to explore factors that affect the likelihood of receiving asylum in the immigration system in 1998–2005.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): The Politics and Practice of Refugee Protection into the Twenty-first Century. By Gil Loescher, Alexander Betts, and James Milner.

Seymour, C. — 2009-06-10

Legitimizing Rejection: International Refugee Law in South East Asia. By Sara E. Davies.

Kneebone, S. — 2009-06-10

At the Margins of the World: The Refugee Experience Today. By Michel Agier. (Translated by David Fernbach).

Ager, A. — 2009-06-10

Not Born a Refugee Woman: Contesting Identities, Rethinking Practices. Edited by Maroussia Hajdukowski-Ahmed, Nazilla Khanlou and Helene Moussa.

Arratia, M.-I. — 2009-06-10

'Brothers' or Others? Propriety and Gender for Muslim Arab Sudanese in Egypt. By Anita H. Fabos.

Samy, S. — 2009-06-10

Nuer American Passages: Globalizing Sudanese Migration. By Dianna J. Shandy.

DeLuca, L., Rhoades, L. — 2009-06-10