Key Terms I: Migrants and Refugees

Displacement and Forced Migration

In this course, Dr Jen Bagelman (Newcastle University) explores displacement and forced migration. In the first two modules, we consider some key terms associated with different types of migration, including migrant, refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced person (IDP), and climate refugee. The third module then looks at the major refugee countries of origin, the main countries they go to, and the reasons some nations host more displaced people than others. In the fourth module, we think about causes of displacement, emphasising the importance of moving beyond abstract, large-scale drivers and considering personal experience when seeking to understand why people migrate. We conclude with a final module on the main actors involved in responding to situations of forced migration at the international, national and local levels.

Key Terms I: Migrants and Refugees

In this module, we think about two important terms in scholarship on forced migration – migrant and refugee. We focus on: (i) what a migrant is and the distinction between voluntary and forced migration; (ii) the scale of forced migration in the contemporary world; (iii) the formation and functions of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); (iv) the 1951 Refugee Convention’s definition of the refugee, including its core principle of non-refoulement – that refugees should not be returned to a country in which their life or freedom would be threatened.