Voting Rights Of Refugees

A novel legal argument about the voting rights of refugees recognised in the 1951 Geneva Convention.

Voting Rights of Refugees develops a novel legal argument about the voting rights of refugees recognised in the 1951 Geneva Convention. The main normative contention is that such refugees should have the right to vote in the political community where they reside, assuming that this community is a democracy and that its citizens have the right to vote. The book argues that recognised refugees are a special category of non-citizen residents: they are unable to participate in elections of their state of origin, do not enjoy its diplomatic protection and consular assistance abroad, and are unable or unwilling, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, to return to it. Refugees deserve to have a place in the world, in the Arendtian sense, where their opinions are significant and their actions are effective. Their state of asylum is the only community in which there is any prospect of political participation on their part.

The constitutions of many countries guarantee the right to vote for all citizens. However, in reality, voters who are outside their home country when elections take place are often disenfranchised because of a lack of procedures enabling them to exercise that right. Voting from Abroad: The International IDEA Handbook examines the theoretical and practical issues surrounding external voting. It provides an overview of external voting provisions in 115 countries and territories around the world, including a map illustrating the regional spread.

Ballot box voting is often considered the essence of political freedom. But it has two major shortcomings: individual voters have little chance of making a difference, and they face strong incentives to remain ignorant about the issues at stake. "Voting with your feet," however, avoids both these pitfalls and offers a wider range of choices. In Free to Move, Ilya Somin explains how broadening opportunities for foot voting can greatly enhance political liberty for millions of people around the world. People can vote with their feet through international migration, choosing where to live within a federal system, and by making decisions in the private sector. Somin addresses a variety of common objections to expanded migration rights, including claims that the "self-determination" of natives requires giving them the power to exclude migrants, and arguments that migration is likely to have harmful side effects, such as undermining political institutions, overburdening the welfare state, increasing crime and terrorism, and spreading undesirable cultural values. While these objections are usually directed at international migration, Somin shows how a consistent commitment to such theories would also justify severe restrictions on domestic freedom of movement. By making a systematic case for a more open world, Free to Move challenges conventional wisdom on both the left and the right. This revised and expanded edition addresses key new issues, including fears that migration could spread dangerous diseases, such as Covid-19, claims that immigrants might generate a political backlash that threatens democracy, and the impact of remote work.

The only comprehensive analysis of international refugee rights, anchored in the hard facts of refugee life around the world.

As our country's politicians engage in bitter partisan battles, focused on protecting their own jobs but not on doing the nation's business, and political pundits shout louder and shriller to improve their ratings, it's no wonder that Americans have little faith in their government. But is America as divided as the politicians and talking heads would have us believe? Do half of Americans stand on the right and the other half on the left with a no-man's-land between them? Hardly. Forty percent of all American voters are Independents who occupy the ample political and ideological space in the center. These Americans are anything but divided, and they're being ignored. These Independents make up the largest voting bloc in the nation and have determined the outcome of every election since World War II. Every year their numbers grow, as does the unconscionable disconnect between them and the officials who are supposed to represent them. The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents tells the story of how our polarized political system is not only misrepresenting America but failing it. Linda Killian looks beyond the polls and the headlines and talks with the frustrated citizens who are raising the alarm about the acute bi-polarity, special interest-influence, and gridlock in Congress, asking why Obama's postpartisan presidency is anything but, and demanding realism, honest negotiation, and a sense of responsibility from their elected officials. Killian paints a vivid portrait of the swing voters around the country and presents a new model that reveals who they are and what they want from their government and elected officials. She also offers a way forward, including solutions for fixing our broken political system. This is not only a timely shot across the bows of both parties but an impassioned call to Independents to bring America back into balance.

This first volume offers comprehensive analyses on a variety of topics ranging from legal to social statute of the refugees. The authors and their contributions are as follows: Çağla Arslan Bozkuş “Legal Status of Refugees”; Özkan Gönül and Yunus Karaağaç “Social Rights of Refugees”, Hasan Acar and Serhat Bulut “The Political Rights of Refugees”; Gülayşe Ülgen Türedi “Refugees and Human Rights”; Emine Kılıçaslan “Refugee and Cultural Rights of Refugees in the Context of Political Communication”; Cenap Çakmak Clarifying the Legal Status: Distinctions between Refugees, Asylum Seekers and (Irregular) Migrants”; Mehlika Özlem Ultan “Conceptual Framework About Migration”; Akın Kiren “The History of Refugee Movements: A Brief Overview”; Hakan Sezgin Erkan “Development Assistance and Refugee Crisis”; Merve Mamacı “Refugee Well-Being in Work Life”; Saadat Demirci “Integration of Refugees into the Society”; Güneş Koç “Identity Construction of Syrian in their Narratives”; Asena Boztaş “Refugees, Integration and Political-Demographic Concerns in Turkey and the World”; Cemal Kakışım and Ozan Selçuk “Integration Policies of the European Union and Turkey towards Refugees”; and Hekma Wali “The Local Integration of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey”.

Cet ouvrage couvre la période qui va de 1758 à nos jours.