Bibliographic information:
Betts, Alexander. 2010. "Forced Migration Studies: 'Who Are We and Where are We Going?' Report on IASFM 12, Nicosia, Cyprus, June 28-July 2 2009." Journal of Refugee Studies 23 (2): 260-69.
Abstract:
This report summarizes discussions that took place during the 12th meeting of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), held in Nicosia in June 2009. The rapporteur focuses particularly on the question of what forced migration studies could and should be and organizes his review around three queries accordingly: "who are we, what did we learn from the conference, and where are we going?" Regarding the first, the author notes that academics and practitioners in attendance were unified around "creating, contesting, critiquing labels and categories" since these "shape access to rights, policy responses and bureaucratic decision making; they drive research and shape academic conclusions; and they create and limit space for advocacy." In the second section, he discusses the conference's theme of "transforming boundaries" with summaries of each of the three plenaries on "boundaries of policy," "boundaries of identity," and "boundaries of community." The third section highlights new research directions for forced migration studies. The author concludes that while IASFM 12 did not produce definitive answers to all three questions posed above, it did provide a "consensus that we have now moved beyond the ‘Refugee Studies versus Forced Migration Studies’ debate, and that we can begin to build an increasingly clear and purposeful research, policy and action agenda for Forced Migration Studies." Excerpts from the conference report are reproduced in IASFM's E-Newsletter (Winter 2010), pp. 7-8. Podcasts of some of the sessions are available through Forced Migration Online (FMO).
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Category:
Forced migration
Resource type:
Journal article
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