Publisher's Synopsis
Forced displacement is one of the greatest humanitarian and development issues in our world today. Every year since 2014 has seen a new record-high in the total number of forcibly displaced people worldwide.1 According to the most recent figures, less than one-third of these individuals are refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Over half are internally displaced, and around 5% are awaiting a decision on their asylum application. These numbers are unlikely to decline any time soon. In fact, as natural disasters and other environmental changes become more frequent, displacement due to climate change alone could see these figures more than double.2 The majority of the individuals displaced by emerging migration challenges like climate change, state fragility, and conflict will be ineligible for Convention refugee status. The harm they are moving to escape is generalized - they are not directly targeted because of a particular feature of their identity - and many will move internally, not across state borders. In light of this, policy scholars and philosophers alike have suggested that the existing international refugee regime is no longer fit for purpose.3 According to these scholars, the Refugee Convention of 1951 is a product of its time, designed to protect individuals fleeing the harms of the Holocaust during World War II.
