Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World / Edition 1

by Aristide R. Zolberg, Astri Suhrke, Sergio Aguayo

Overview

The magnitude of refugees movements in the Third World, widely perceived as an unprecedented crisis, has generated widespread concern in the West. This concern reveals itself as an ambiguous mixture of heartfelt compassion for the plight of the unfortunates cast adrift and a diffuse fear that they will come "pouring in." In this comprehensive study, the authors examine the refugee flows originating in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and suggest how a better understanding of this phenomenon can be used by the international community to assist those in greatest need. Reviewing the history of refugee movements in the West, they show how their formation and the fate of endangered populations have also been shaped by the partisan objectives of receiving countries. They survey the kinds of social conflicts characteristic of different regions of the Third World and the ways refugees and refugee policy are made to serve broader political purposes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195079166
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/22/1992
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.13(w) x 9.19(h) x 0.74(d)
Lexile:	1590L (what's this?)

About the Author

New School for Social Research

The American University

El Colegio de Mexico

Table of Contents

Part 1	Historical and Analytic Perspectives
Chapter 1.	Who Is a Refugee?	3
	Why Definitions Matter	3
	Classic Refugees	5
	Religious Persecution	5
	Political Opposition	8
	National Minorities and the Stateless	11
	The Reinstatement of Barriers Against Exit	16
	Refugee Crises and the Emergence of an International Refugee Regime	18
	The First European Crisis	18
	The Second European Crisis	21
	Challenges from the Developing World	27
	Conclusion: In Fear of Violence	29
Part 2	Regional Studies
Chapter 2.	Ethnic Conflict in the New States of Sub-Saharan Africa	37
	A Crisis in the Making	37
	The Weakest States, the Weakest Economies	40
	Weak States and Ethnic Conflict	44
	Ethnic Revolution and Counterrevolution in Rwanda and Burundi	45
	The Two Wars of the Two Sudans	50
	The Fragmentation of Chad	56
	Tyrannical Rule and Its Legacy in Uganda	63
Chapter 3.	In the Long Shadow of South Africa	72
	Southern Africa as a Regional Complex	72
	The Struggle Against Settler Regimes	75
	Angola	75
	Mozambique	79
	Zimbabwe	82
	Namibia	86
	Structural Transformations Under Siege	90
	"Total Strategy" and "Linkage"	90
	Angola	91
	Mozambique	94
	Playing for Time in Namibia	98
Chapter 4.	Separatism, Revolution, and War in Ethiopia and the Horn	103
	Competitive State-Formation in the Horn	103
	Concatenated Conflict	106
	Eritrean Separatism	106
	The Ethiopian Revolution	108
	Somalia and the Ogaden Conflict	112
	Eritrea After the Revolution	115
	Famine and Its Aftermath	117
	African Prospects	120
	The New States	121
	Ethiopia and the Horn	122
	Southern Africa	122
Chapter 5.	Reorganization of Political Communities in South Asia	126
	Asia's Refugees: An Overview	126
	The Classic Case: Partition of India	129
	South Asia After Partition	135
	International Conflict and Refugee Flows	136
	Internal Conflict and Refugees	136
	Revolution and Intervention in West Asia: Afghanistan	150
Chapter 6.	Revolution and Reaction in East Asia	155
	The Classic Case: Revolution in China	156
	Revolutionary Southeast Asia	160
	Vietnam	161
	Laos	168
	Kampuchea	170
	Reformist Southeast Asia	173
	Asian Prospects	176
Chapter 7.	Social Conflict and Refugees in Latin America	180
	Introduction	180
	Cuba	184
	The Impact of a Socialist Revolution	184
	Some Effects of the Cuban Revolution	191
	Haitian Un-Development	192
	The National Security States in the Southern Cone	198
Chapter 8.	Social Revolutions and Refugees in Central America	204
	The Roots of Social Revolution	204
	The Central American Exodus	210
	Prospects for Latin America	220
Part 3	Theoretical and Policy Implications
Chapter 9.	Patterns of Social Conflict and Refugee Movements	227
	The Contemporary Crisis Reconsidered	227
	The Globalization of Social Conflict	230
	Refugees and the Formation of New States	232
	Violent Decolonization	232
	Ethnic Conflict in the New States	235
	Refugees and Conflicts over the Social Order	245
	The Waning of Revolutions and the Persistence of Rebellions	251
	Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Rule	255
	Weak States: Exit and Implosion	256
Chapter 10.	Toward a Better International Refugee Regime	258
	The Root Causes of Refugees	258
	The Debate	258
	Poverty and Refugees	260
	Root Causes and Social Change	262
	Dealing with Root Causes	263
	Institutional Reforms	263
	The Role of External Parties	264
	Regional Peace Systems	265
	Dealing with the Flows	269
	The Definitional Question Revisited: Who Is a Refugee?	269
	Politicization and Demystification	272
	Special Problems of Our Time	275
	Refugee-Warrior Communities	275
	Refugees and North-South Relations	278
	The Asylum Challenge	279
	Notes	283
	Index	359

Editorial Reviews

"Informative, provocative."—Journal of Asian Studies

"A valuable contribution to our understanding."—Political Science Quarterly

"What makes Escape from Violence so important is that it is at once historical, theoretical, empirical, and practical. [The book] takes the reader—even the informed reader—far beyond what is available in 'the literature' by providing a different cut on the problems, particularly on the question of state formation and conflicts over the nature of the social order, and by not only reviewing the 'root causes' of refugee flows but suggesting how they might be dealt with in the future. The combination of creative thinking and realism could turn the work into a blueprint for action if those who have the power to influence social policy take the suggestions seriously."—Peter I. Rose, Smith College

"A mature statement of a theory, and supporting cases, of the relationships between causes of social conflict and the refugee implications. The systemic treatment is pathbreaking. This work will be one of those giants on whose shoulders others build."—Charles B. Keely, Georgetown University

"It is an essential book for all scholars concerned with conflict in the Third World. The book is highly relevant in comparative politics, international relations, and security studies."—Ted Gurr, University of Maryland, College Park

From the Publisher