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. 66
Recent Publications and New Research
New book: Megan Bradley, James Milner and Blair Peruniak (eds.) (2019). Refugees’ Roles in Resolving Displacement and Building Peace: Beyond Beneficiaries. Georgetown University Press. The book asks How are refugee crises solved? The resolution of displacement and the conflicts that force refugees from their homes is often explained as a top-down process led and controlled by governments and international organizations. This book takes a different approach. Through contributions from scholars working in politics, anthropology, law, sociology and philosophy, and a wide range of case studies, it explores the diverse ways in which refugees themselves interpret, create and pursue solutions to their plight. The book speaks both to academic debates and to the broader community of peacebuilding, humanitarian and human rights scholars concerned with the nature and dynamics of agency in contentious political contexts and identifies insights that can inform policy and practice. More available at:
http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/refugees-roles-resolving-displacement-and-building-peace.
New Journal issue: When States Take Rights Back: Citizenship Revocation and Its Discontents. Citizenship Studies, Issue 4 (June 2019). Citizenship studies publishes internationally recognised scholarly work on contemporary issues in citizenship, human rights and democratic processes from an interdisciplinary perspective covering the fields of politics, sociology, history, anthropology, and cultural studies. The journal encourages analyses that move beyond conventional notions of citizenship and treats citizenship as a strategic concept that is central to the analysis of identity, participation, empowerment, human rights, and democracy. Citizenship is analysed in the context of contemporary processes involving globalism, nationalism, and neoliberalism. It features aspects of citizenship such as gender, indigeneity, diasporicity, equality, security, migration, intimacy, and borders. This issue includes articles on topics such as lessons from Canada’s experiment with citizenship revocation; fraud-based citizenship deprivation in France and the UK, and Dutch Nationality laws targeting Dutch-Moroccans, more available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ccst20/23/5
New Journal issue: African Human Mobility Review. Volume 5 Number 1, January – April 2019. AHMR is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed on-line journal created to encourage and facilitate the study of all aspects (socio-economic, political, legislative and developmental) of Human Mobility in Africa. This issue comprises articles on migrant remittance, Eritrean Migration through the Sudan and the Sahara Desert, Dignity in refugee protection, and more. The issue is open access available at: http://sihma.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AHMR-Vol-5-No-1-April-2019-pp-1439-1555.pdf
d’Haenens, L., Joris, W., & Heinderyckx, F. (2019). Images of Immigrants and Refugees in Western Europe. This book examines the dynamic interplay between media representations of migrants and refugees on the one hand and the governmental and societal (re)actions to these on the other. Largely focusing on Belgium and Sweden, this collection of interdisciplinary research essays attempts to unravel the determinants of people’s preferences regarding migration policy, expectations towards newcomers, and economic, humanitarian and cultural concerns about immigration’s effect on the majority population’s life. Whilst migrants and refugees remain voiceless and highly underrepresented in the legacy media, this volume allows their voices to be heard. The book is open access and is available at:
http://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=1004969
Report, Policy Briefs and Working papers
Kaldor Centre Principles for Australian Refugee Policy: Key Priorities, Kaldor Center for International Refugee Law. The Kaldor Centre Principles for Australian Refugee Policy were launched on June 13, setting out a clear, evidence-based policy agenda. They challenge policymakers and the public to reimagine Australia’s current approach, so that both refugees and the nation can prosper amid today’s real global challenges. They provide real-world examples of how, and why, Australia can develop a more humane, sustainable and manageable approach. The seven principles are available in a detailed report at: https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/kaldor_A4_short_E_singles.pdf
Immigration Detention in Latvia: Giving “Accommodation” a Whole New Meaning, May 2019, Global detention project. Although Latvia does not experience significant migratory pressures, the number of immigration detainees and the average length of detention have steadily increased. In 2017, the country opened a second detention facility, misleadingly called an “accommodation centre.” The law provides for the detention of non-citizens for up to 10 days without a court order, the detention of children over the age of 14, and the provision of “alternatives to detention” only for “humanitarian” reasons. Since 2013, four UN human rights treaty bodies have issued recommendations to the country concerning its immigration detention policies. The full report is available at:
https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/latvia
Immigration Detention in Lithuania: Detention and Denial Amidst Extreme Population Decline, May 2019, Global detention project. Asylum applications in Lithuania have decreased significantly in the last few years even as entry refusal rates at the country’s borders have skyrocketed, increasing by some 80 percent since 2013. The country’s restrictive asylum legislation, which provides for the detention of asylum seekers, has received criticism from several UN human rights bodies. Lithuania operates one immigration detention centre, which in the past was been denounced for its poor conditions, over-crowding, and disproportionate use of force. Non-citizens applying for asylum at the border may in some cases be held at entry points or transit zones for up to four weeks in facilities that have been criticized as unsuitable for detention purposes. The full report is available at:
https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/lithuania
Immigration Detention in Estonia: Better Conditions, Stricter Regime, May 2019, Global detention project. Largely shielded from immigration pressures due to its geography, Estonia has one of the lowest migrant-apprehension rates in the European Union and received the fewest asylum applications in 2018. Nevertheless, public discourse about migrants and foreigners is heavily marked by fear and animosity. Estonia operates one dedicated immigration detention centre, which was opened in 2018 to replace an older facility that had a long track record of riots, hunger strikes, and violence. “Alternatives to detention” are not widely used and the country’s laws do not prohibit the detention of children. The full article is available at: https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/estonia
Promoting Settlement-Sponsor Collaboration- Best Practices Report (April, 2019) Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) and Refugee 613. The Allies in Refugee Integration (ARI) project seeks to increase and strengthen collaboration between settlement service providers and refugee sponsorship groups in Ontario and ultimately improve settlement outcomes of privately sponsored refugees. This report is the result of research with more than 360 stakeholders across Ontario to learn what is currently happening in collaboration, as well as the challenges and opportunities in strengthening the relationship. Available at:
Working together to support sponsored refugees- A literature review on best practices in settlement-sponsor collaboration (April 2019) Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) and Refugee 613. As part of the Allies in Refugee Integration (ARI) project, this literature review asks the question, “What does collaboration between private refugee sponsorship groups and settlement service providers in Ontario currently look like?”. With the goal of better supporting privately sponsored refugees, this literature review does a scan of best practices in Ontario and models that could be promoted in order to strengthen settlement-sponsor teamwork. Available at: http://ocasi.org/sites/default/files/working-together-to-support-sponsored-refugees-literature-review.pdf
News Reports and Blog posts
Essential readings: The Localization agenda, Refugee Host series. During Refugee Week, Refugee Host will be posting from its Essential Reading series, the first of which is on localisation. You can explore a range of themes including refugee led and faith-based humanitarianism, and role of local organizations in humanitarian access. List of readings available at: https://refugeehosts.org/the-localisation-agenda/
Digital and social media
Remembering Refuge: Between Sanctuary and Solidarity. This is a multi-media site and digital archive highlighting the stories of people from Haiti, El Salvador, and Guatemala, who crossed the Canada-US border to seek refuge. More details about the project and listen to oral history podcast at: