The Persistent Reality of Forced Migration

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It appears trite to proclaim the relevance of forced migration. It is, without doubt, a defining aspect of our time, with its impacts felt acutely across the globe. Indeed, the current scale of forced migration is without precedent. Those who are compelled to leave their homes often undertake dangerous journeys in the hope of reaching relative safety, yet are too often received with suspicion, hostility and exclusion. While the immediacy of the situation is clear to see, experience has shown that such immediacy can swiftly turn to intractability, bringing with it a sense of permanence and seeming inevitability.

 

Demonstrable steps have been taken in response to the persistent reality of forced migration. 2018 is indeed of special importance, as it marks the twentieth anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Yet, despite these efforts, we continue to struggle to effectively respond to, let alone remedy or prevent, instances of forced migration. It is in this context that the socio-legal community has a vital role to play, perhaps now more than ever, in the critical examination and interrogation of forced migration.

 

In this Current Topic stream, we will engage with the innumerable legal, political and sociological issues associated with forced migration. To this end, we welcome papers that deal with domestic, regional and international law and policy, approached from a socio-legal, doctrinal, theoretical or empirical angle. We also welcome papers that speak to the experience of forced migration itself. We encourage a broad interpretation of forced migration, including, but not limited to, the crossing of international borders for the seeking of international protection, internal displacement, and the trafficking of persons, as well as issues associated with deportation and similar. Papers that explore and critique the very content or nomenclature of this call for papers are also very welcome.

 

Convenors

Dr Brid Ni Ghráinne (b.a.nighrainne@sheffield.ac.uk); Ben Hudson (bhudson@lincoln.ac.uk)