Non-Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century: Refugees, Statelessness, and Forced Migration

Catalog description

Citizenship has been conceptualized as “the right to have rights,” isolating citizenship acquisition as central to modern existence. Citizenship is granted, or denied, by states. A non-citizen is any individual who is not a citizen of the state in which he or she is present. This course examines a range of relationships between states and individuals, and considers the modes and legitimacy of restricting human rights on the basis of non-citizenship. Topics covered sit at the intersection of international law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance, international development and international politics. We will debate emerging perspectives on the rights and well-being of non-citizens. In doing so, we will focus on the perversities that arise across various sectors as a result of a fundamental tension between the universal aspirations to deliver human rights and human development for all and the realities of state sovereignty in the fields of border control, immigration and citizenship law. The instructor and guest lecturers are international actors engaging in the fields explored through advocacy, strategic litigation, campaigning, and research and documentation.