Looking at refugee crises in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, this book is the first systematic attempt to explain why the developing world today is producing so many refugees. Using both structural and transnational interdisciplinary approaches, the authors show how prevailing concepts and international institutions that deal with refugees emerged from the historical experience of Europe and were shaped by international politics in the post World War II era. The authors conclude by assessing the prospects for further refugee-producing conflicts and the policy implications for receiving states and humanitarian bodies.

This book seeks to foster a more critical and realistic understanding of the refugee phenomenon, so as to clarify the obligations of the more fortunate of the world toward others in great need, and the ways in which these are best implemented.This is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive, theoretically grounded explanation of refugee flows.From the Preface.

an essential book for all scholars concerned with conflict in the Third World. The book is highly relevant in comparative politics, international relations, and security studies.