Explorations in a Foreign Land: States, Refugees, and the Problem of History

Forced migration is closely associated with processes of construction and reconstruction of the modern State – yet refugees and “internal” migrants rarely appear on the historical record. Why are refugees excised from mainstream history? What accounts for the “amnesia” of professional historians who have neglected countless mass displacements? This article examines state formation and mass migration worldwide, setting out a case for new approaches to refugee history.