Refugee Studies MSc

Modules

• International refugee law
• Asylum policy in the EU and member states
  This module begins with a brief history of the EU and traces trends and transformations in the post-war period, before focusing on five case studies and then examining of the different but related processes of harmonisation and convergence between EU member states. The links between sending and receiving counties and new initiatives linking development (aid) and asylum policy will also be considered. The course will also spend several weeks examining the asylum policies of the Americas and Africa. We will look into the differences between the systems and the causes behind those differences. Are those systems better than the Common European Asylum System? If so, why? Can we learn from other systems or are there too many fundamental differences.
• Forced migration and human rights
  This module examines the inter-relationship between international human rights standards and forced migration. It will familiarise the student both with internationally and regionally protected human rights standards (civil and political, economic social and cultural) whose violation gives rise to forced migration and with the human rights issues in the host states to which the forced migrants move. It will introduce students to the UN and regional systems governing these issues and to specific themes which bring human rights and forced migration together.
• Forced migration and development
  The module introduces the key concepts in Forced Migration and Development and different categories of forced migrants--asylum-seekers, refugees, IDPs, oustees and disaster victims. It examines the multiple and complex nature of Forced Migration, evaluates the responses of the international, inter-governmental, non-governmental and governmental responses to the short-medium and long-term needs of forced migrants and the poor sections of the host population. It critically analyses and evaluates the positive and negative impacts of forced migrants on host commmoduleies. How forced migrants (re)-construct their commmoduleies and livelihoods in countries of asylum and places of destination, as well in countries and places of origin in the context of post-conflict reconstruction are also examined in detail.
• Contemporary issues in development
  The module aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the contemporary challenges facing developing countries in the coming years. Topics vary from one year to the next, but currently the focus is on issues of poverty and poverty reduction; aid and its effectiveness; debt and debt servicing; governance and transparency; the environmental impact of development; patterns of inequality; the impact of urbanisation; and more generally, on changing economic relations within the world economy following the 2008-9 global crisis and subsequent events. The module also assesses the main developing strategies followed by selected middle and low-income countries, with detailed case studies drawn from Asia, Africa and Latin America. It also examines these topics from a gender perspective.
• Research methods for development
  A series of lectures introduces students to the main epistemological approaches to research and key research strategies, and focuses on mixed-methods research (MMR). In parallel, students will participate in tutor-led workshops to develop data summary and analysis skills with specific computer-based packages.
• Dissertation (triple module)