The RRN Research Digest provides a synopsis of recent research on refugee and forced migration issues from entities associated with the RRN and others.
You can download the digest in PDF format here: RRN Research Digest No. 55
Recent Publications and New Research
Peter Nyers (2019). Irregular Citizenship, Immigration, and Deportation, London: Routledge.
The book brings deportation and anti-deportation together with the aim of understanding the political subjects that emerge in this contested field of governance and control, freedom and struggle. It looks at the ways that citizens get caught up in the deportation apparatus and must struggle to remain in or return to their country of citizenship. The book features stories about struggles over removal and return, deportation and repatriation, rescue and abandonment. It features eleven ‘acts of citizenship’ that occur in the context of deportation and anti-deportation, arguing that these struggles for rights, recognition, and return are fundamentally struggles over political subjectivity of citizenship. More information available at: https://www.routledge.com/Irregular-Citizenship-Immigration-and-Deportation/Nyers/p/book/9781138337008 (A google preview is also available).
Elisabeth Olivius (2018) Time to go home? The conflictual politics of diaspora return in the Burmese women’s movement, Asian Ethnicity (19)1.
This article explores how return to Myanmar is debated within the Burmese women’s movement, a significant and internationally renowned segment of the Burmese diaspora. Does return represent the fulfilment of diasporic dreams; a pragmatic choice in response to less than ideal circumstances; or a threat to the very identity and the feminist politics of the women’s movement? Contrasting these competing perspectives, the analysis offers insights into the ongoing negotiations and difficult choices involved in return, and reveals the process of return as highly conflictual and contentious. In particular, the analysis sheds light on the gendered dimensions of diaspora activism and return, demonstrating how opportunities for women’s activism are challenged, debated and reshaped in relation to return. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631369.2018.1519387
Dustin, N. Ferreira, S. Millns (2019). Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit, Palgrave Macmillan.
This book explores the barely recognised gendered and queer dimensions of Brexit while offering a multidisciplinary, policy-oriented and intersectional analysis. It examines the opportunities and challenges, rights and wrongs, and prospects and risks of Brexit from the perspectives of gender and sexuality. The collection explores how Brexit might change the equality, human rights and social justice landscape, but from the viewpoint of women and gender/sexual minorities. The book contains several chapters directly related to asylum and refugees, in particular: Unaccompanied Migrant Children and the Implications of Brexit and The Impact of Brexit on Gender and Asylum Law in the UKas well as a section in Queering Brexit: What’s in Brexit for Sexual and Gender Minorities? More information available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-03122-0
Note: the book editors have kindly shared a Special offer to receive 20% off the printed book or eBook. Use the following token on palgrave.com: K4PMf2Y9ckCTexG (Valid Jan 8, 2019 – Feb 5, 2019)
Susana de Sousa Ferreira (2019). Human Security and Migration in Europe’s Southern Borders
This book examines the management of migratory flows in the Mediterranean within an international security perspective. The intense migratory flows registered during the year 2015 and the tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea have tested the mechanisms of the EU’s immigration and asylum policies and its ability to respond to humanitarian crises. Moreover, these flows of varying intensities and geographies represent a threat to the internal security of the EU and its member states. By using Spain and Italy as case studies, the author theorizes that the EU, given its inability to adopt and implement a common policy to effectively manage migratory flows on its Southern border, uses a deterrence strategy based on minimum common denominators. More information available at:
https://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9783319779461
Kerwin, D., Alulema, D., & Nicholson, M. (2018). Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2331502418820066.
This paper examines the characteristics of deportees from the United States and the effects of deportation on deportees, their families, and their communities. It analyzes the findings from 133 interviews with deportees at a migrant shelter in Sonora, Mexico and interviews with family members of deportees and others affected by deportation in three Catholic parishes in the United States. These findings include: 1) the deportees had established long and deep ties in the United States, including strong economic and family ties, 2) deportation severed these ties and impoverished and divided affected families, 3) most deportees planned to return to the United States, and 4) the US deportation system treated deportees as criminals and the Trump administration sought to instill fear in immigrant communities. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to mitigate the ill effects of the administration’s policies and promote the integrity of families and communities, including: using detention as a “last resort”; reducing funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and limiting collaboration between police and ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2331502418820066
Reports, Working Papers and Briefs
Francisca Vigaud-Walsh, Still at Risk: Restrictions endanger Rohingya Women and Girls in Banglades, Refugees International.
In April 2018, Refugees International (RI) conducted a mission to Bangladesh, to research the GBV response for Rohingya women and girls. RI found that the entire humanitarian system is struggling under tremendous constraints in Bangladesh, and protection and health actors do deliver lifesaving services to survivors in an incredibly challenging environment. This report, however, focuses on key gaps and challenges in GBV programming, as communicated by practitioners deployed to Bangladesh at various stages of the emergency, by local organizations, and by the affected women and girls themselves. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5b58d8da6d2a735bfb2ec32e/1532549339585/Bangladesh+GBV+Report+-+July+2018+-+final.pdf
Adam Fishman, SDG Knowledge Weekly: Looking towards Humanitarian Efforts, Climate Impacts and Adaptation in 2019, January 8, 2019
The SDG Knowledge Hub (http://sdg.iisd.org/) is an online resource center for news and commentary regarding the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This policy brief reviews priorities for aid in the coming year and efforts towards SDGs on humanitarian issues such as modern slavery. It also summarizes articles and knowledge products on climate adaptation, impacts and finance released around the Katowice Climate Change Conference at the end of 2018. Available at: http://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/policy-briefs/sdg-knowledge-weekly-looking-towards-humanitarian-efforts-climate-impacts-and-adaptation-in-2019/
News reports and Blog post
2018: A Year of Reporting Deeply on Refugees and Migration by Charlotte Alfred, Daniel Howden, Tania Karas
In this article the editors select 2018’s best stories and commentary on Refugees Deeply. The selections include stories about Refugees from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, as well as the African Migrants to Europe, Afghan child soldiers, Migrant domestic workers in the gulf, and smuggling in Libya. It also covers topics around UNHCR funding, the global compact, using AI in refugee determination, and including refugees in policy discussions. Available at: https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2018/12/21/2018-a-year-of-reporting-deeply-on-refugees-and-migration
Are women escaping family violence overseas considered refugees?, The Conversation, January 8, 2019, by Tamara Wood
With the global attention the Saudi teenager has caught recently, this report reflects on the predicament of women like al-Qunun under international refugee law. It highlights the unique range of legal and practical hurdles Women fleeing family and domestic violence must deal with. Available at:
https://theconversation.com/are-women-escaping-family-violence-overseas-considered-refugees-109509
Digital and social media
The Right to Remain Toolkit
This toolkit is a guide to the UK immigration and asylum system. It gives an overview of the legal system and procedures, with detailed information on rights and options at key stages, and actions you can take in support of your claim, or to help someone else. Available at: https://righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/