Suchergebnisse

"'Gatrell offers a deftly written, comprehensive and at times heartbreaking account of the mass movement of populations. Drawing from a rich array of primary and secondary materials, first-hand accounts and historial reflections, The making of the modern refugee is a terrific introduction to the history of mass displacement in the past century', Michael Barnett, The European Review of History"--Cover page 4

This article contributes to the emerging field of refugee history by inviting a consideration of the extensive holdings of the Records and Archives Division of the Geneva-based Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It focuses on a sample of confidential case files created in the quarter-century following the launch of UNHCR to determine whether an individual was eligible for recognition and thus for protection and assistance under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The postwar international refugee regime was selective and biased towards refugees of European origin, but UNHCR increasingly engaged with non-European refugees, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A close study of the case files concerning refugees in different sites of displacement raises questions about the power vested in the new institution and the circumstances in which refugees sought access to UNHCR. Against the backdrop of Cold War and decolonization the article also engages with issues around the archive, 'access' and 'disclosure': not only the terms of the encounter between refugees and officialdom, but the privileged access of scholars to confidential records and by extension to material that discloses intimate aspects of refugee lives.

In this article, I take the opportunity to discuss some recent work on the history of population displacement, including the valuable work represented in this HSR Special Issue, with a particular focus on the situation of displaced persons and refugees in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. Here, I concentrate on the interaction of multiple actors in the post-war international refugee regime and then turn to some specific issues in relation to the confidential case files of the UNHCR compiled between 1951 and 1975. This allows me a few final reflections on the extent to which digital methods can support research and dissemination as well as the wealth of material at the disposal of any historian who wishes to study the mainsprings of mass population displacement, the management practices and policies of the state, the dynamics of the international refugee regime, the role of activists and relief workers, and not least the responses of refugees who navigated the dangerous waters of displacement, who were caught up in the myriad processes of categorisation, and who encountered officials who had the power to determine their prospects.

This article addresses the role played by Western non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in managing migration, with particular regard to refugees and refugee policy in the modern era. A commitment to the support and welfare of refugees has been a core component of the activity of many NGOs since the late nineteenth century. But this humanitarian purpose cannot be divorced from the prevailing refugee regime. The state acted as gatekeeper, determining who was recognised and protected as a refugee. The issue of funding available to NGOs is also closely linked to state-driven priorities. Nevertheless, NGOs are significant humanitarian actors in their own right. This article considers the proliferation of NGOs and their activities in the broad field of refugee relief. A focus on the evolution, rationale and differentiation of NGOs suggests that we can usefully think of them as enterprises of a distinct kind. Although they are not driven by profit motives, this article suggests that NGOs do have a business strategy in which their efficacy, innovation and accountability to donors are important considerations. It concludes by reaffirming the fundamental point that only in exceptional circumstances were NGOs seeking to assist refugees able to escape the fundamental constraints imposed by the state.