This course will explore some of the key issues arising from the conflict-driven displacement of people, both across internationally recognized state borders (refugeehood) and within their own countries (internal displacement). It will introduce the international institutional and legal frameworks set up to respond to the forcible displacement of people, and address the questions of the political, socio-economic, and cultural ramifications of forced migration for both host countries and societies, and for displaced populations themselves. In an attempt to develop an understanding of regional dynamics, the course will also explore the issue of the forcible displacement of population that occurred as a result of the armed conflicts following the breakup of the Yugoslav federation, and the limits of the international policymaking and strategies employed concerning this question. Finally, a special emphasis will be given to the ongoing European refugee crisis, focusing on the so-called “Balkan Route” as the main channel enabling refugees from Western Asia, South Asia, and Africa to move towards Central and Western Europe, the Balkan states’ response to the increased refugee flows since 2015, and these countries’ role in the management of EU border politics. This class will combine theoretical approaches, different case studies, site visits, and guest lectures in an attempt to “humanize” migrants and refugees who we tend to perceive as distant and different from ourselves. This course’s assessment of the international policymaking in the post-conflict societies of Southeast Europe will teach students how to think about improving policies serving both displaced population groups and their hosts. Students will be equipped with the historical, political, and legal knowledge necessary for recognizing the challenges put before the countries on the so-called “Balkan Route,” including the complexities and dynamics of the ongoing migration flow towards Central and Western Europe. Finally, students will gain a better understanding of what it means to be a refugee or an internally displaced person, and how the experience of forcible displacement influences these people’s identities, sense of “belonging,” and understanding of themselves in relation to the world and the world in relation to themselves. (Lecturer: Maja Maksimovic)
