This book examines the history of refugees in order to explore their place in international politics.Emma Haddad's historical study of refugees demonstrates that state responses to the refugee debate have always been qualitatively the same. She suggests that this is important in conceiving new ways to understand the refugee 'problem' and to formulate responses to it.Emma Haddad's historical study of refugees demonstrates that state responses to the refugee debate have always been qualitatively the same. She suggests that this is important in conceiving new ways to understand the refugee 'problem' and to formulate responses to it.With the unrelenting unrest in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Sudan, the plight of refugees has become an increasingly discussed topic in international relations. Why do we have refugees? When did the refugee 'problem' emerge? How can the refugee ever be reconciled with an international system that rests on sovereignty? Looking at three key periods - the inter-war period, the Cold War and the present day - Emma Haddad demonstrates how a specific image has defined the refugee since the international states system arose in its modern form and that refugees have thus been qualitatively the same over the course of history. This historical and normative approach suggests new ways to understand refugees and to formulate responses to them. By examining the issue from an international society perspective, this book highlights how refugees are an inevitable, if unanticipated, result of erecting political borders.1. The refugee 'problem'; Part I. The Refugee: A Conceptual Analysis: 2. Who is (not) a refugee?; 3. The refugee and the international states system; 4. Sovereign rights, human rights and security; Part II. The Refugee: An Historical Analysis: 5. The inter-war perspective; 6. Refugees and international protection in the Cold War era; Part III. The Refugee: A Contemporary Analysis: 7. The external dimension of EU refugee policy; 8. TlC