News, Essays and other writing
Book Launch: New Narratives on the Peopling of America
In New Narratives on the Peopling of America, editors T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Alexandra Délano Alonso present an extraordinary collection of original essays that reshape our understanding of the peopling of the United States. This thought-provoking volume goes beyond conventional accounts of immigration by reexamining narratives about foreign-born populations in the United States. It situates them as part of a larger story of forced displacement and dispossession that needs to include indigenous people, enslaved persons, deported and returned migrants, and those residing in territories and foreign nations acquired by the United States.
The diverse range of contributors—which include academics, journalists, artists, legal scholars, and activists—confront complex topics such as migration, racial justice, tribal sovereignty, and the pursuit of equality. As nationalism, globalization, and economic challenges reshape the social and political landscape, this timely volume calls for a reevaluation and reconstruction of national narratives of belonging. Challenging nativist tropes and offering broader understandings of collective history, this pathbreaking book centers issues of race and dispossession in the story of the American people.
New Narratives on the Peopling of America is an essential resource for students and a compelling read for general readers seeking a deeper understanding of the complex tapestry of American identity.
Climate-Induced Displacement and the International Protection of Forced Migrants
In coming years, scores of millions of people will be forced from their homes because of the effects of the climate crisis and other environmental events. While there is general recognition that those displaced by climate events merit assistance and protection, the existing international refugee regime does not provide an adequate framework for action. This article proposes an approach that focuses on the fact of displacement due to the climate crisis and embraces a right not to be displaced. It thus centers questions of accountability and root causes and embeds claims to climate justice in discussions of regime reform. Climate displacement provides an opportunity—indeed, the necessity—for a fundamental rethinking of the prevailing protection paradigm.
The Project is Dead – Long Live the Project
The Project is Dead – Long Live the Project: Towards Sustainable Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Urban Migration Governance in African Intermediary Cities
Migration and displacement are transforming Africa’s urban landscape. Policy-makers and researchers have for a long time focused their attention on the effects of migration in capital cities. However, intermediary cities are increasingly responsible for Africa’s urban growth as they rapidly become hubs of migration and displacement. Local governments struggle with these realities as they often lack the legal mandate, resources, and capacities to address diverse human mobility flows. This paper discusses recent partnerships between African intermediary cities and civil society actors, national governments, research institutions, and international organizations that aim to address the challenges and harness the opportunities associated with human mobility.
Book Talk: A Thousand Tiny Cuts with Sahana Ghosh
Join the Zolberg Institute and Dr. Sahana Ghosh online on Friday, April 19 for a conversation about her book, A Thousand Tiny Cuts: Mobility and Security Across the Bangladesh-India Borderlands. Dr. Ghosh’s first book, A Thousand Tiny Cuts chronicles the slow transformation of a connected region into national borderlands and shows the foundational place of gender and sexuality in the meaning and management of threat and security in relation to mobility.
Book Talk: The New Minority with Maurice Crul and Frans Lelie
Join the Zolberg Institute on Wednesday, April 24 at 12:30 PM ET for a conversation with authors Maurice Crule and Frans Leli about their 2023 book, “The New Minority: People without a Migration Background in the Superdiverse City”.
NYC Partnering for Migration Justice Summit
The NYC Partnering for Migration Justice Summit took place on Thursday, February 1 and Friday, February 2, 2024 at The New School. The summit featured voices of artists, activists, organizers, researchers, city officials, and community members from across the city, with participants taking part in panel and roundtable discussions. The purpose of the Summit was to deepen and scale up strong and sustainable collaborations between migrant communities and higher education, by prioritizing the voice of migrants, community activists, and migrant-supporting organizations active in the city.