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WiSe 22/23: Migrants, Mariners, and Refugees

Maria-Michaela Hampf

Kommentar

This course will examine the movements of migrants and refugees at sea during the 2oth- and 21st century. These refugee systems are, among other factors, shaped by international dimensions of conflict of the postwar world order, namely the Cold War East-West conflict and the postcolonial North-South divide. Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese “Boat People” took to the sea in small boats, seeking refuge in the US, among other states, and causing an international humanitarian crisis. In recent decades, the United States has experienced a significant increase in the number of immigrants from Haiti, from where political instability, endemic poverty and natural disasters have propelled migration to the United States, often by boat. These examples show the tension between migratory movements, supranational norms such as humanitarianism, international law, and human rights, national and private economic interests, as well as sociopolitical interests within the respective regions. Based on primary sources, the seminar will employ a transnational approach, focusing on (1) Actors, (2) international norms and national legal frameworks, (3) border practices and migration regulations, and (4) narratives, discourses, and media representations. Schließen