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‘Truly’ International Refugee Law? Or Yet Another East/West Divide?

Davies, Sara E. (2002) ‘Truly’ International Refugee Law? Or Yet Another East/West Divide?. Social Alternatives 21(4).

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Abstract

In the recent literature on international refugee law (Martin 1997, Goodwin-Gill 1996, Kourula 1999) there is a predominant assumption that it is indeed international. However, it is clear that the main possibilities of refugee law come from state adherence and obligation to it. The will of the Western states to practice international refugee law has been questioned in the last two decades (Feller 2001, Loescher 1993, Chowdhury 2001, Chimni 1998), but very little has been written about the role of Asian and developing states in international refugee law. In this paper, I present a brief history of the formation of international refugee law. I show that ‘East’ and ‘West’ (Said 1978) have taken up very different positions in relation to refugees, and that this has significant implications in the present day. The possibilities of international refugee law are limited by an East/West divide.

Item Type:Journal Article
Status:Published
Subjects:390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390100 Law > 390111 International Law
390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement
390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390100 Law
360000 Policy and Political Science
390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390300 Justice and Legal Studies > 390303 Human Rights
360000 Policy and Political Science > 360100 Political Science
390000 Law, Justice and Law Enforcement > 390300 Justice and Legal Studies
360000 Policy and Political Science > 360100 Political Science > 360105 International Relations
ID Code:5130
Deposited By:Davies, Sara E
Deposited On:04 May 2007
Alternative Locations:http://www.socialalternatives.com/
Copyright Owner:Copyright 2002 Social Alternatives
Additional Information:For more information, please refer to the journal’s website (see link) or contact the author. Author contact details: s5.davies@qut.edu.au