Forced Migration: An Integrative Perspective for the 21st Century

Building on existing debates in international organizations, policy and academia, this insightful book argues for a broader transnational perspective on the concept of forced migration and its multiple contexts and catalysts. It analyzes the different social groups of forced migrants, treating them neither as passive victims nor as activist heroes, but as social actors under highly constrained conditions. Using an interdisciplinary, longitudinal approach to forced migration as a social practice, Ludger Pries and Rafael Bohlen show the multiple causes of the issue, and how the responsibility for refugee protection is usually externalized. They present a fresh life-course perspective on forced migration, exploring the everyday lives and social spaces of those who live with the protracted uncertainty of livelihoods and belonging that it generates. Finally, the book explores a wide range of possible responses to the challenges of forced migration at the policy, organizational, and civil society levels. Forced Migration is a fascinating and essential reading for social scientists studying and researching migration studies, forced displacement, and human rights. It will also appeal to practitioners, activists and politicians involved in refugee response and state policy.