Internal Displacement in the Global North

Abstract

Abstract Most internal displacement occurs in the Global South, at least according to our usual ways of measuring and conceptualizing forced movement. However, some scholars outside of political philosophy have begun to attend to displacement in affluent and powerful countries as well. This chapter aims to consider internal displacement in the Global North and asks whether we ought to broaden our thinking on who counts as an internally displaced person (IDP). First, the author shows that, according to our best interpretation of internal displacement, forced movement is already ubiquitous within states in the Global North. Second, the author considers why such labels have not been applied in affluent countries, focusing on the case of Hurricane Katrina in the United States, where there was intense debate about ‘proper labelling’. Finally, the author considers what it might mean to expand the idea of internal displacement, and whether it would really affect the lives of those we theorize about.