Pluralising geographies of refuge

Abstract

This article explores why certain spaces of refuge continue to be excised from global maps of forced migration. It first reviews why this exclusion happens, before synthesising work on the movements of forced migrants to states that are not signatories to the dominant refugee law frameworks. This exposes the partiality of geographies of refuge that rest on Western legal-normative conceptualisations of hospitality and humanitarianism. It argues that a focus on alternative sites and forms of refuge is nonetheless critical for 1) sketching accurate experiential and geopolitical maps of forced migration and 2) challenging dominant moral geographies of asylum and responsibility-sharing.