Mobile Networks: Visualizing the Global Refugee Regime

Bennett Gabriel Sherry

doi:10.5195/jwhi.2015.11

Abstract

This article identifies conceptual issues surrounding the visualization of refugee movement in relation to state borders. It argues that social-network-analysis software provides a tool for the creation of visualizations of human movement that are removed from geolocation. Such a method disassociates forced migration from preconceived notions about the importance of geographical proximity and the fixity of state borders. This article provides some brief examples of ways that these methods might be utilized to graph and visualize aspects of the global refugee regime. The global-scale, transnational conceptualization and new visualizations show networks of movement centered on new inter-state communities and highlights the role of non-state actors.

Highlights

This article identifies conceptual issues surrounding the visualization of refugee movement in relation to state borders
Treating refugee migration solely as a function of international relations lacks an appreciation for the complex nature of refugee movement and the networks and institutions that facilitate it.[3]
In the data gathered by the United Nations, refugees are categorized according to a limited set of criteria – state of origin, state of asylum, state of resettlement, and status recognition – which defines refugees by their relation to states.[4]

Summary

Introduction

This article identifies conceptual issues surrounding the visualization of refugee movement in relation to state borders. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software provides an extraordinarily useful set of tools; it is the contention of this paper that, to extricate refugee migration from state-dominated analyses, social network analysis provides an important alternative for refugee data visualization that is less dependent on geo-location and less referential to state borders and state control.

Results

Conclusion