Refugee Studies Centre

Refugee Studies Centre
Name	Refugee Studies Centre
Established	1982
Founder	James C. Hathaway, Michael D. Brough
Location	Oxford, United Kingdom
Parent organisation	University of Oxford

Refugee Studies Centre is an academic unit within the University of Oxford dedicated to the study of forced displacement, asylum and related humanitarian crises. It engages scholars, policymakers and practitioners from institutions such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and International Committee of the Red Cross to produce research that informs responses to refugee situations in regions including Syria, South Sudan, Rohingya conflict, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. The Centre collaborates with scholarship and policy networks tied to Harvard University, Columbia University, London School of Economics, Stanford University and University of Cambridge.

History

The Centre was established in 1982 amid international attention to displacement linked to events such as the Soviet–Afghan War, Vietnam War aftermath, and crises in East Africa including Ethiopian Civil War. Early directors and affiliates drew on comparative work by scholars who had engaged with cases like Uganda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, El Salvador and Chile. Over time institutional ties grew with agencies including UNHCR, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, Oxfam International and national bodies such as the Home Office (United Kingdom), shaping policy dialogues after incidents like the Kosovo War and the Iraq War.

Mission and Research Focus

The Centre’s stated aims align research on protection, rights and durable solutions with humanitarian practice in contexts such as Palestinian territories, Darfur, Somalia, Myanmar, Haiti and the Caribbean Crisis. Core thematic strands have included legal protection linked to instruments like the 1951 Refugee Convention and regional frameworks such as the European Convention on Human Rights, livelihoods and self-reliance relating to programs run by UNDP, urban displacement studies referencing cities like Cairo, Beirut, Nairobi and Bangkok, and intersections with climate-linked events such as cyclones affecting Bangladesh and wildfire displacements like those in Australia.

Academic Programs and Teaching

The Centre offers postgraduate teaching streams integrated with departments and colleges at University of Oxford and postgraduate partnerships with institutions such as Queen Mary University of London, University of Sussex, SOAS University of London and McGill University. Teaching covers courses on refugee law connected to jurists influenced by decisions from the European Court of Human Rights and case studies of statelessness under instruments like the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. It supervises doctoral research on topics tied to fieldwork in locales including Lebanon, Jordan, Chad, Kenya, Turkey and Mexico.

Research Centres and Projects

Hosted projects have included collaborations with think tanks such as Chatham House, Brookings Institution, International Crisis Group and research programmes funded by bodies like the Economic and Social Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and European Commission. Project portfolios have examined return and reintegration after conflicts like Rwandan genocide, housing and planning in displacement-affected municipalities such as Athens, data and protection linked to initiatives by IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix and digital protection work associated with Electronic Frontier Foundation and privacy standards from Council of Europe.

Publications and Knowledge Dissemination

The Centre publishes working papers, policy briefs and monographs that have been cited alongside reports from UNHCR Global Trends, analyses in journals such as Journal of Refugee Studies, Forced Migration Review, International Migration Review and books published by Oxford University Press and Routledge. It convenes conferences and seminars featuring contributors from Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Refugee Council (United Kingdom), and scholars who have served on panels for UK Parliament and committees of the European Parliament. Digital outputs have been shared with repositories like Oxford Research Archive.

Partnerships and Impact

The Centre maintains partnerships across academia, policy and civil society with entities including UNHCR Innovation Service, Global Compact for Migration stakeholders, European Asylum Support Office, the World Bank and national aid agencies such as DFID (now part of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office). Its work has informed operational guidelines used by Médecins Sans Frontières responses, advocacy strategies by Amnesty International and program design for NGOs including CARE International and Mercy Corps. Alumni have taken roles in institutions like UNICEF, International Rescue Committee, national ministries in countries such as Uganda and Canada, and international courts including the International Criminal Court.

Facilities and Location

Situated in Oxford within the collegiate environment of the University of Oxford, the Centre is proximate to libraries such as the Bodleian Library and collaborates with units including the Department of International Development (University of Oxford), the Oxford Department of Sociology, the Law Faculty, University of Oxford and the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Facilities support fieldwork preparation, digital archiving, seminars and visiting scholar residencies, and provide access to datasets maintained in partnership with agencies like UNHCR and IOM.

Category:Humanitarian aid