Forced displacement

The island of Fuaigh Mòr in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, cleared in 1841. Many Scottish Highlanders were forced to move out of their homes, often to places such as Canada and Australia

Forced migration (also called deracination - originally a french word meaning uprooting) refers to the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region. It often connotes violent coercion, and is used interchangeably with the terms "displacement" or forced displacement. A specific form of forced migration is population transfer, which is a coherent policy to move unwanted persons, perhaps as an attempt at "ethnic cleansing". Someone who has experienced forced migration is a "forced migrant" or "displaced person".

Forced migration has accompanied persecution, as well as war, throughout human history but has only become a topic of serious study and discussion relatively recently. This increased attention is the result of greater ease of travel, allowing displaced persons to flee to nations far removed from their homes, the creation of an international legal structure of human rights, and the realizations that the destabilizing effects of forced migration, especially in parts of Africa, the Middle East, south and central Asia, ripple out well beyond the immediate region.

Development-induced displacement is a subset of forced migration. Such displacement is the forcing of communities and individuals out of their homes, often also their homelands, for the purposes of economic development. It has been historically associated with the construction of dams for hydroelectric power and irrigation purposes but also appears due to many other activities, such as mining. The most well-known examples of development-induced displacement is a result of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China, and also the previous German expulsions.

Further reading

Alexander Butts, Forced Migration and Global Politics. Wiley-Blackwell.

See Also

• Community Displacement in Philadelphia
• Development-induced displacement
• Gentrification
• Refugee roulette

External links

• Pictures of Refugees in Europe - Features by Jean-Michel Clajot, Belgian photographer
• Forced Migration Online provides access to a diverse range of relevant information resources on forced migration, including a searchable digital library consisting of full-text documents.
• Forced Migration Review World's most widely read publication on refugee and internal displacement issues
• Back issues of migration journals (Disasters, Forced Migration Review, International Journal of Refugee Law, International Migration Review and Journal of Refugee Studies)
• Eurasylum Many relevant documents on asylum and refugee policy, immigration and human trafficking/smuggling internationally
• IDP Voices Forced migrants tell their life stories
• Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), Norwegian Refugee Council The leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide.
• The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration brings together academics, practitioners and decision-makers working on forced migration issues.
• The International Organization for Migration is a non-governmental organization with a major role mediating modern migration.
• The Journal of Refugee Studies from Oxford University provides a forum for exploration of the complex problems of forced migration and national, regional and international responses.
• The Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford: a leading multidisciplinary centre for research and teaching on the causes and consequences of forced migration.
• What is Forced Migration?, an introductory guide for those who are new to the subject.

• Wits Forced Migration Studies Programme, Africa's leading centre for teaching and research on displacement, migration, and social transformation.
• Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children