Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Summary

Refugees and asylum seekers are forced migrants who have crossed an international border, yet in practice, the differences between these two categories have become much more complex. The refugee label is both a legal status that affords rights and protections and a category of practice used in everyday settings by politicians, the media, and members of society, as well as an analytical term used by social scientists who examine experiences of forced migration and the refugee regime. The construction and implementation of these legal categories are deeply consequential for structuring migrants’ life chances. Despite advancements made in the field of refugee studies, contemporary theories of forced migration continue to be heavily influenced by the policy-oriented nature of the discipline. Moreover, given the proliferation of temporary and partial statuses being used alongside or in place of refugee status, limited protections and rights are being afforded to forced migrants around the world. Traditional understandings of forced migration are further complicated by studies of displacement that reveal how the social process of displacement is distinct from the event of forced migration and can occur before, during, and after refugees flee their home countries and persist once refugees have been granted humanitarian protection. Interdisciplinary scholarship has pushed the boundaries of strict legal and political categories, reorienting the field away from the interests of states and toward the perspective of refugees.