With the arrival in Europe of over a million refugees and asylum seekers in 2015, a sense of panic began to spread within the continent and beyond. What is a Refugee? puts these developments into historical context, injecting much-needed objectivity and nuance into contemporary debates over what is to be done. Refugees have been with us for a long time -- although only after the Great War did refugee movements commence on a large scale -- and are ultimately symptoms of the failure of the system of states to protect all who live within it. Providing a terse user's guide to the complex legal status of refugees, Maley argues that states are now reaping the consequences of years of attempts to block access to asylum through safe and 'legal' means. He shows why many mooted 'solutions' to the 'problem' of refugees -- from military intervention to the warehousing of refugees in camps -- are counterproductive, creating environments ripe for the growth of extremism among people who have been denied all hope. In a globalised world, he concludes, wealthy states have the resources to protect refugees. And, as his historical account shows, courageous individuals have treated refugees in the past with striking humanity. States today could do worse than emulate them.

1. IntroductionSome categories and distinctionsSome recurring themesThe objectives and structure of this book2. Defining 'refugees'International refugee law: originsThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of RefugeesBroader legal definitionsRefugee protection under other branches of lawStatus determination by statesOrdinary language understandings of 'refugee'Philosophical definitions of 'refugee'3. Exile and Refuge: A Brief OverviewPolitical violence, marginalization and the human experienceExile and ideology from the 17th to the early 20th centuryRussian and German refugees between the World WarsPostwar refugee resettlementInternal conflict and refugee movements in the late 20th and early 21st centuries4. States and RefugeesThe Westphalian systemBureaucracy and its failingsIndividual initiativesPeople smuggling: a product of state inaction5. Roots of Refugee 'Crises' in a Globalized WorldState disruption and violent conflictThe fear of 'terrorism'Transport, the wherewithal to travel, and human mobilityGlobalization and its impacts6. Diplomacy and RefugeesFrameworks for negotiation over refugees'Burden sharing' and its dilemmasThe temptation of 'easy options'Refugees as agents7. Refugees, Intervention and the 'Responsibility to Protect'The use of forceThe idea of humanitarian intervention'Intervention' as a solutionThe Responsibility to Protect8. 'When Adam delved and Eve span ...': Some Reflections on Closing and Opening BordersThe costs of controlled bordersThe moral costs of refugee exclusionConfronting the 'Birthright Lottery'Endnotes and Index