Understanding the State and Asylum in Africa

Abstract

The plight of refugees in Africa has been one of the most visible consequences of the conflicts that have plagued the continent for the past fifty years. Images of refugees pouring across borders to escape persecution, mass human rights violations and conflict, huddled in camps and surrounded by the flags of international aid agencies, have put a human face on issues as complex and abstract as the collapse of a state. This was especially true in the 1990s, as millions of African refugees fled conflict and state failure in many regions of the continent. The world looked on as scores of refugees fled conflicts in Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Somalia, to name but five of the more notorious. Shocked by the scale of human suffering, there were demands for action. In response, Western governments gave hundreds of millions of dollars to humanitarian agencies like the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and dozens of other international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).