Today, more than 82 million people live in a situation of forced displacement. Most were expelled or had to flee their homes for fear of persecution and cannot safely return; some were born already in refugee camps, where they will grow up unable to properly belong. Only a small part of this population is fortunate enough to quickly resettle and reorganise their lives. Most of those forcibly displaced live in conditions marked by deprivation of rights as well as material deprivation, and deep uncertainty about the future. How do people cope? How do they organise themselves as they face extreme danger? Why do so many risk their lives in the hope of a better life? And why are liberal democracies so often reluctant to receive those fleeing, despite their commitment to Human Rights?
This module will take an in-depth look at the experience of becoming a refugee, and reflect on the meanings and impacts of such experiences, for refugees themselves, but also for the countries they fled, the countries they moved through, and the societies where they sought protection through political asylum, and where some were eventually allowed to create new homes.
The module takes a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing in insights from International Law, Anthropology, and Public Policy, to discuss our understandings of power, sovereignty and statehood, as well as the ideas of belonging, community, and integration. Rather than focusing on states and decision-makers as is usually the case when thinking about international politics, we will place the experiences of refugees, as represented by refugees themselves, at the centre of our attention. We will listen to their voices, to consider questions of agency, contingency, political and moral values, in the search for policy solutions that alleviate their plight, and contribute to their empowerment and social integration.
Students enrolled in this module will develop their analytical skills through the discussion of key concepts, but also their sensibility towards sensitive and politically divisive topics. They will exercise their ability to listen to the voices of those who are marginalised, through the exposure to testimonies, documentaries, and works of fiction; and they will consider different possibilities of action, and their own role, as students and as citizens who will one day, in their professional capacity, contribute to shape policy.
 