Refugee Diplomacy

Abstract

Refugees are a major focus of contemporary diplomatic activity. Whether in bilateral engagements between states, at regional forums, or in the course of the annual meeting in Geneva of the Executive Committee of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the issues of how refugees are to be treated, how refugee flows are to be managed, and - increasingly - how refugee movements are to be prevented or deterred, figure prominently on international agendas. This article discusses the meaning of 'refugee', the emergence of refugee diplomacy, institutional and legal frameworks for refugee diplomacy, refugees as objects of international and domestic politics, and challenges for refugee diplomacy. Show more