Recipient of Christianity Today's Award of Merit in Politics and Public Life, 2016 ------ What will rule our hearts: fear or compassion? We can’t ignore the refugee crisis—arguably the greatest geo-political issue of our time—but how do we even begin to respond to something so massive and complex? In Seeking Refuge, three experts from World Relief, a global organization serving refugees, offer a practical, well-rounded, well-researched guide to the issue. Who are refugees and other displaced peoples? What are the real risks and benefits of receiving them? How do we balance compassion and security? Drawing from history, public policy, psychology, many personal stories, and their own unique Christian worldview, the authors offer a nuanced and compelling portrayal of the plight of refugees and the extraordinary opportunity we have to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Asylum seeking and the global city are two major contemporary subjects of analysis to emerge both in the literature and in public and official discourses on human rights, urban socioeconomic change and national security. Based on extensive, original ethnographic research, this book examines the situation of asylum seekers in Hong Kong and offers a narrative of their experiences related to internal and external borders, the performance of border crossing and asylum politics in the context of the global city. Hong Kong is a city with no comprehensive legislation covering refugee claims and official and public opinion is dominated by the view that the city would be flooded with illegal economic migrants were policy changes to be implemented. This book considers why Hong Kong has become a destination for asylum seekers, how asylum seekers integrate into local and global economic markets and why the illegalization of asylum seekers plays a significant role in the processes of global city formation. This book will be essential reading for academics and students involved in the study of migration; globalization and borders; research methods in criminology; social problems and urban sociology.

ChorSwang Ngin radically shifts the asylum-seeking narrative by focusing on rarely heard stories of persecution and escape from China and southeast Asia. Identities on Trial in the United States weaves together the cases of a tortured student from a Myanmar prison, an apostate of Islam, several victims of ethnic and sexual violence from Indonesia, and the escape of men and women from China’s draconian one-child policy, among others. Joann Yeh, an immigration attorney and contributor to this work, examines asylum seeking in a Mandarin-speaking Californian community and discuss the failure of the United States' quasi-judicial immigration system, highlighting "asylum lawfare" in courtroom dramas and arguing for an anthropological advantage in asylum preparation. This book is an essential text for policy makers, students, lawyers, activists, and those engaged with migration studies seeking a more just asylum outcome.

Is there still a right to seek asylum in a globalised world? Migration control has increasingly moved to the high seas or the territory of transit and origin countries, and is now commonly outsourced to private actors. Under threat of financial penalties airlines today reject any passenger not in possession of a valid visa, and private contractors are used to run detention centres and man border crossings. In this volume Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen examines the impact of these new practices for refugees' access to asylum. A systematic analysis is provided of the reach and limits of international refugee law when migration control is carried out extraterritorially or by non-state actors. State practice from around the globe and case law from all the major human rights institutions is discussed. The arguments are further linked to wider debates in human rights, general international law and political science.

"Seeking asylum in the European Union (EU) today is as complex as the EU asylum system itself: the different forms of protection that exist do not remain easily accessible and are sometimes not tailored to the specific protection needs of asylum-seekers. The aim of this volume is to provide critical analyses of selected problems that scholars and policy-makers will have to address in the 'second phase' of the Common European Asylum System. A broad range of issues are examined relating to access to and qualification for international protection and the further problems raised by this amended set of asylum instruments which continue to impede asylum-seekers from benefiting from effective protection in EU Member States"--Unedited summary from book cover.

Dive into the intricate and globally significant topic of asylum and refugees with the "Global Atlas of Refugees and Asylum Seekers." This compelling collection of essays, curated by a diverse group of renowned scholars, offers an extensive exploration of migration patterns, paradigms, and lessons from around the world. As you journey through the chapters, you'll gain unique insights into how countries have responded to the unprecedented refugee crisis, examining notable cases such as Costa Rica, the United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and many more. Discover the complexities of asylum systems and the changing landscapes of migration policies in nations as diverse as Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Spain, and North Macedonia. Delve into the geopolitical implications of seeking refuge and asylum, with a comprehensive analysis of the Palestinian diaspora and an exploration of Pakistan, India, Turkey, and the communitarian-based strategy in refugee laws. This essential compendium provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics and global challenges surrounding asylum and refugees. With its diverse range of topics and expert contributors, the "Global Atlas of Refugees and Asylum Seekers" is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the complexities of global migration and the policies that shape the lives of those seeking refuge. "The authors of this book identify two main paradigms shaping states’ narratives regarding asylum seekers and refugees. Along the horizontal axis, discourses range from national security to humanitarian aid. On the vertical axis, they extend from the pursuit of ideals, as traditionally defined for refugees and asylum seekers, to personal survival due to economic, climate-related crises, family violence, gender violence, or organized crime. This shift, as highlighted in the chapter on Germany by Professor Knerr, is altering the original vision of agreements that stemmed from post-World War II Europe."

Examines questions of allegiance and identity in a globalised world through the disciplines of law, politics, philosophy and psychology.