Refugees in Global Politics

Transcription

1 Refugees in Global Politics Instructor: Nicholas Micinski Course Description Refugees and forced displacement are key topics, but often ignored, in international relations. Refugees are at the center of international law, international organizations, global governance, regime complexity, human rights, state and non-state actors, security, and development. This course introduces the main theoretical concepts of forced migration and refugees and places these concepts within the larger debates in political science. We will examine the evolution of international refugee law, the growth of UNHCR, and the implementation of durable solutions (repatriation, resettlement, and local integration). We will study the relationship between citizenship, statelessness, internally displacement, and sovereignty and examine the intersection of security, development, borders, and walls. These concepts are also applied to case studies in Central America, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Finally, the course will explore the related concepts of human smuggling, securitization of migration, and the migration-development nexus. The course includes quizzes, a midterm, and a research paper related to refugee policy. Learning Objectives Throughout this course, students: Will develop writing and research skills related to international politics Will learn about the history and politics of displacement Will learn key concepts in international migration, refugee and asylum, and forced migration Will place events and theories in their historical and global context Will apply what they have learned in through policy analysis and writing Course Requirements 1. Do the readings 2. Attend class 3. Participate in discussions 4. Complete the mid-term 5. Submit a research paper Grading Policy Final grades for this class calculated as follows: - Attendance, participation, and quizzes: 25% - Mid-term exam: 30% - Research paper: 45% Attendance, Participation, and Quizzes In order to receive credit for participation, all students must do the following for each class: 1. Completed the readings before class 2. Bring paper copies of the readings to each class 3. Submit in writing a thesis statement for one reading each class (see thesis statement handout) 4. Speak at least once in class Education and especially this class is based on interaction; we learn from discussion and making ideas real in front of us. This requires participating in discussions, asking questions, and speaking to one another. If you do not speak in class, you will be expected to ask the instructor a question after the same class or explain why you did not participate. Short quizzes will be given periodically throughout the semester on the content of the readings for that class. These will be announced at the beginning of class and will be a similar format to the thesis statement exercise but without notes. There are no make-up quizzes for students who do not attend class. As per university policy, students with four unexcused absences will be dropped from the class. 1

2 Mid-term Exam The mid-term exam will be a written blue book exam with three required essay questions. Make-up exams will not be given unless your reason/absence is documented. Always notify the instructor in advance if you know of an unavoidable conflict. Research Paper You must complete one page research paper. You will write a research paper on a specific issue related to refugee policy. More instructions will be given in class with a detailed assignment sheet at least a month before the due date. Your grade will be penalized if the paper is turned in late without a documented excuse. Writing Center I strongly encourage all students to take advantage of the Writing Center, which offers one-to-one consultations, e- Tutoring, and workshops. Any students who document that they have used the Writing Center services will be given extra credit. Cellphones and Laptops Cell phone and laptop use is forbidden in class. I am a full supporter of using technology for education and we will utilize technology for this course outside of the classroom. In the classroom, your full attention is required to the topic at hand and this is not possible with the many glorious distractions on the Internet just one click away. Violations of this policy will negatively impact your participation grade. Academic Honesty and Plagiarism The Department of Political Science supports the policy on academic honesty: Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's educational mission and the students' personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. Reports of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Penalties for academic dishonesty include: loss of points, disciplinary probation, suspension, expulsion, and complaint to Civil Authorities. I take academic honesty very serious and have failed students ever semester who have plagiarized. In order to show that you understand what plagiarism is you must take the following short online quiz. Step 1: Go to Step 2: Take the quiz Step 3: Screenshot your final score Step 4: to your instructor (nmicinski@gradcenter.cuny.edu). *This must be completed by our second class. Failure to submit your score will severely impact the quiz portion of your grade. Blackboard This course requires that you log into Blackboard regularly. Please ensure that you have access to Blackboard within the first week of class. The syllabus and PDFs of all required readings are uploaded to Blackboard under Content. Readings are categorized by the topics listed below. You are responsible for downloading and printing all readings for each class. I will also use Blackboard to post class announcements, assignment sheets, and additional readings. 2

3 Schedule Date Topic Readings Introduction Syllabus Historical Context Betts, Loescher, & Milner, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): The Politics and Practice of Refugee Protection, Ch. 1. Laura Barnett, Global Governance and the Evolution of the International Refugee Regime, International Journal of Refugee Law 14, no. 2 & 3 (2002): International Law & Conventions 1951 Convention & 1967 Protocol Adrian Edwards, UNHCR viewpoint: 'Refugee' or 'migrant' Which is right? Heaven Crawley & Dimitris Skleparis, Refugees, migrants, neither, both: categorical fetishism and the politics of bounding in Europe s migration crisis, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (2017): Evolving refugee protection Betts, et al., Ch 2, UNHCR in the Cold War Susan Akram, UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees, in Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Case Study: Cubans, Gil Loescher, Calculated Kindness, Ch 4. Central Americans & the US Report to Congress, Central American Refugees: Regional Conditions and Prospects and Potential Impact on the United States, 20 July Nackerud, et. al., The End of the Cuban Contradiction in U.S. Refugee Policy, International Migration Review 33, no. 1 (1999): Regime Complexity Betts, Institutional Proliferation and the Refugee Regime, Perspectives on Politics 7, no. 1 (2009): OAU Convention 1984 Cartagena Agreement 2003 Convention Plus UNHCR Betts, et al., The politics and practice of UNHCR s mandate, Ch 4. Aleinikoff, Alexander, The mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Research Handbook on International Law and Migration (2014). Durable solutions: Resettlement Shauna Labman, Resettlement s Renaissance: A Cautionary Advocacy, Refuge 24, no. 2 (2007): Joanne van Selm, Refugee Resettlement in Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Durable solutions: Repatriation B.S. Chimni, From resettlement to involuntary repatriation: Towards a critical history of durable solutions to refugee problems, Refugee Survey Quarterly 23, no. 3 (2004): Megan Bradley, Back to basics: The conditions of just refugee returns, Journal of Refugee Studies 21, no. 3 (2008): Laura Hammond, Voluntary Repatriation and Reintegration, in Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Durable solutions: Local integration Jeff Crisp, The local integration and local settlement of refugees: A conceptual and historical analysis, UNHCR New Issues in Refugee Research 102 (2004): 1-8. Alexandra Fielden, Local integration: an under-reported solution to protracted refugee situations, UNCHR New Issues in Refugee Research 158 (2008):

4 Case Study: Bosnian Refugees Midterm Exam Marko Valenta and Zan Strabac, The Dynamics of Bosnian Refugee Migrations in the 1990s, Current Migration Trends and Future Prospects, Refugee Survey Quarterly 32, no. 3 (2013): Karin Landgre, Safety Zones and International Protection: A Dark Grey Area, International Journal of Refugee Law 7, no. 3 (1995): Monika Nalepa, "Reconciliation, Refugee Returns, and the Impact of International Criminal Justice: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Transitional Justice (New York: New York University Press, 2012): Survival Migration Betts, Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displace (2013), Ch 1. Katy Long, When Refugees Stopped Being Migrants, Migration Studies 1, no. 1 (2013): Borders & Walls Wendy Brown, Walled States, Waning Sovereignty (2014), Ch 1. Reece Jones, Violent Borders (2016), Ch 1 & 2. FILM: Raising Barriers, The Washington Post, 12 October Extending Borders Ruben Andersson, Illegality, Inc. (2014), Introduction. Peter Andreas, Redrawing the Line: Borders and Security in the Twenty-first Century, International Security 28, no. 2 (2003): Lavenex and Ucarer, The external dimension of Europeanisation: the case of immigration policies, Cooperation & Conflict 39, no. 4 (2004): Internally Displaced Persons Phil Orchard, Protection of internally displaced persons: soft law as a norm-generating mechanism, Review of International Studies 36, no. 2 (2010): Walter Kälin, Internal Displacement, in Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Statelessness Statelessness and Citizenship, in The State of the World s Refugees 1997: A Humanitarian Agenda (1997), Ch 6. Alice Edwards and Laura van Waas, Statelessness, in Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Gender and Refugees Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Gender and Forced Migration in the Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Nicole Laviolette, Gender-related refugee claims: Expanding the scope of the Canadian Guidelines, International Journal of Refugee Law 19, no. 2 (2007): Refugee Rights at Sea McMahon, S. and Sigona, N. Boat migration across the Central Mediterranean, MEDMIG Research Brief No.3 September 2016, Pugh, M. Drowning not waving: boat people and humanitarianism at sea, Journal of Refugee Studies 17, no. 1 (2004): Migrants in the Mediterranean: Protecting human rights, European Parliament, Policy Department, Case Study: Syrian and Iraqi Refugees Joseph Sassoon, The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East (2009), Ch 1-2. Nicole Ostrand, The Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Comparison of Responses by Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Journal on Migration and Human Security 3, no. 3 (2015):

5 Human trafficking and smuggling Securitization, Privatization & Detention Citizenship, Integration, Diaspora Politics Sari Hanafi, Forced Migration in the Middle East and North Africa in the Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Ann Gallagher, Trafficking, Smuggling and Human Rights: Tricks and Treaties, Forced Migration Review 12 (2002): Bridget Anderson, Trafficking, in the Oxford Handbook for of Refugee and Forced Migration Michael Welch and Liza Schuster, "Detention of asylum seekers in the UK and USA: Deciphering noisy and quiet constructions," Punishment & Society 7, no. 4 (2005): Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, The Rise of the private border guard: Accountability and responsibility in the migration control industry, in The Migration Industry and the Commercialization of International Migration (2013), The Nauru Files: The lives of asylum seekers in detention detailed in a unique database, The Guardian, 31 August 2016, Irene Bloemraad, Anna Korteweb, and Gokce Yurdakul, Citizenship and Immigration: Multiculturalism, Assimilation, and Challenges to the Nation-State, Annual Review of Sociology 34 (2008): Alastair Ager and Alison Strang, "Understanding integration: A conceptual framework," Journal of Refugee Studies 21, no. 2 (2008): Refugee Livelihoods Cindy Horst, Refugee Livelihoods: Continuity and Transformations, Refugee Survey Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2006): Betts, et. al. Refugee Economies: Forced Displacement and Development (2017), Introduction. Buscher, New Approaches to Urban Refugee Livelihoods, Refuge 28, no. 2 (2011): Migration and Development Nexus Global Migration Governance: Future Prospects Conclusion Ninna Sørensen, Nicholas Van Hear, and Poul Engberg- Pedersen, The MigrationDevelopment Nexus: Evidence and Policy Options, International Migration 40, no. 5 (2002): Sandra Lavenex and Rahel Kunz, The Migration Development Nexus in EU External Relations, Journal of European Integration 30, no. 3 (2008): Micinski & Weiss, The European Migrant Crisis: Can Development Agencies Do Better? Future United Nations Development System Briefing 37, January Betts, Global Migration Governance (2011), Introduction. Micinski and Weiss, Global Migration Governance: Beyond Coordination and Crises, in The Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence, 2017 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018). 5