Power and influence in the global refugee regime

"Understanding the politics of the global refugee regime has been an important area of research in refugee and forced migration studies for nearly three decades. A specific focus of this work has been the challenge of fostering the various forms of international cooperation necessary for the regime to fulfill its core functions, detailed in the 1950 Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as ensuring protection for refugees and finding a solution to their plight. Given the regime’s demonstrated inability to predictably secure this cooperation and fulfil these functions, however, there has been a sustained interest in the role that politics and interests play in either constraining the regime, or, more recently, in expanding the scope and functioning of the regime. While this literature has made significant contributions, it is striking that there has been limited overt and systematic engagement with notions of power in the global refugee regime. Echoing the observation of Thucydides that “the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept,” this limited attention to power may stem from a concern that engaging with the interests of the powerful within the regime may legitimize the actions of such actors and undermine the functioning and legitimacy of the regime itself. There have also been concerns that discussions of power may stray from the analytical to the editorial, prompting some, like Chimni, to note that “what I am propounding here is not a conspiracy theory” but instead that “refugees are pawns and not concerns, and that human rights violations are often used to justify violence and the naked exercise of power.”7 Moreover, where the role of power within the regime has been examined, power has arguably been conceptualized in a narrow sense, pointing to the need to develop a conceptualization of power that brings these diverse efforts into closer conversation while providing the basis for future research.

Power and Influence in the Global Refugee Regime

Introduction to 33.1: Special Issue Power and Influence in the Global Refugee Regime Guest Editor: James Milne

Liquid Crystal Polarimetry for Metastability Exchange Optical Pumping of 3He

We detail the design and operation of a compact, discharge light polarimeter for metastability exchange optical pumping of 3He gas near 1 torr under a low magnetic field. The nuclear polarization of 3He can be discerned from its electron polarization, measured via the circular polarization of 668 nm discharge light from an RF excitation. This apparatus measures the circular polarization of this very dim discharge light using a nematic liquid crystal wave retarder (LCR) and a high-gain, transimpedance amplified Si photodiode. We outline corrections required in such a measurement, and discuss contributions to its systematic error

Power in the Global Refugee Regime: Understanding Expressions and Experiences of Power in Global and Local Contexts

Since the late 1980s, scholars have highlighted the role of diverse conceptualizations of power in explaining the functioning of the global refugee regime. Part of this literature has examined the functioning of power in global contexts, while another part has explored expressions and experiences of power in local contexts. While these approaches illustrate how power may be expressed and experienced in the diverse contexts of the regime, can we conceptualize power in a way that engages with the functioning of the refugee regime in both global and local contexts? Can a more disaggregated understanding of power, sensitive to form and context of expression, open new areas of enquiry into the functioning of the regime and help explain its ability and inability to fulfill its core mandate of protection and solutions for refugees? In response, this article draws on the literature on power in global governance to propose a heuristic framework for understanding power and influence in the diverse context of the global refugee regime. It argues that various forms of power co-exist within the regime, and that further research could usefully examine the manifestations and implications of these forms of power through the making and implementation of global refugee policy.Depuis la fin des années 80, les universitaires soulignent le rôle des diverses conceptions du pouvoir dans le fonctionnement du régime international des réfugiés. Une partie de la littérature examine le fonctionnement du pouvoir dans des contextes internationaux, une autre les formes et les pratiques de pouvoir dans des contextes locaux. Tandis que ces approches illustrent comment le pouvoir peut s’exprimer et être vécu dans divers contextes du régime des réfugiés, pouvons-nous conceptualiser le pouvoir d’une manière qui fasse un lien avec le fonctionnement du régime des réfugiés dans les contextes locaux et internationaux? Est-ce qu’une approche plus fragmentée du pouvoir, sensible à la forme et au contexte de son expression, ouvrirait de nouveaux champs de recherche sur le fonctionnement du régime des réfugiés et contribuerait à expliquer sa capacité et son incapacité à remplir son mandat fondamental de protection des réfugiés et de mise à disposition de solutions les concernant? Pour répondre à ces questions, cet article puise dans la littérature traitant du pouvoir dans la gouvernance mondiale afin de proposer un cadre heuristique pour comprendre le pouvoir et l’influence dans les divers contextes du régime international des réfugiés. Il défend l’idée que des formes variées de pouvoir coexistent à l’intérieur du régime, et que des travaux de recherche supplémentaires pourraient examiner de manière pertinente les manifestations et les conséquences de ces formes de pouvoir dans la conception et la mise en œuvre de la politique internationale des réfugiés