UNHCR ─ The Politics and Practice of Refugee

This revised and expanded second edition of The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to offer a concise and comprehensive introduction to both the world of refugees and the organizations that protect and assist them. This updated edition also includes:

up to date coverage of the UNHCR’s most recent history and policy developments
evaluation of new thinking on issues such as working in UN integrated operations and within the UN peacebuilding commission
assessment of the UNHCR’s record of working for IDP’s (internally displaced persons)
discussion of the politics of protection and its implications for the work of the UNHCR
outline of the new challenges for the agency including environmental refugees, victims of natural disasters and survival migrants.
Written by experts in the field, this is one of the very few books to trace the relationship between state interests, global politics, and the work of the UNHCR. This book will appeal to students, scholars, practitioners, and readers with an interest in international relations.

Alexander Betts is University Lecturer in Refugee Studies and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. He has worked at UNHCR headquarters and is the author of Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime (2009).

Gil Loescher is Visiting Professor, Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford and Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of several books on refugees and international relations, including The UNHCR and World Politics (2001).
Alexander Betts is University Lecturer in Refugee Studies and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. He has worked at UNHCR headquarters and is the author of Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime (2009).

Introduction 1. The origins of international concern for refugees 2. UNHCR in the Cold War, 1950-1991 3. UNHCR in the post-Cold War Era 4. The politics and practice of UNHCR’s mandate 5. UNHCR as a global institution 6. New Challenges Conclusion: Towards the future