Johnathan Bascom

Strategic Behavior in Refugee Repatriation A Game-Theoretic Analysis

The authors present a game-theoretic analysis of negotiations involving two players: the government of a country of origin and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in which the latter represents refugees, countries of asylum, and donor countries at the negotiating table. Ordinal preference orderings of outcomes allow the authors to represent the attitudes of governments in countries of origin toward their refugees as well as the urgency of repatriation for countries of asylum and donor countries. For alternative configurations of preference orderings, the authors analyze repatriation negotiations using classical game theory and the theory of moves, which assume different rules of play. They find the theory of moves is better suited for understanding efforts to achieve repatriation agreements in actual refugee crises and conclude with reflections on the difficulties of reaching repatriation agreements in recent years.

“Southern” Exposure: Teaching Third World Geography

Abstract Striking developments such as the growing polarization of North-South relations suggest the need for more third world geography, as well as fresh teaching strategies for such courses. This paper outlines the advantages of a process approach with innovative methods and resources to involve students more fully in courses on the developing regions. An annotated bibliography amplifies on useful resources that are introduced within the paper.

Food, wages, and profits: mechanized schemes and the Sudanese state.

This paper examines the pivotal role of the state in the politics of agriculture being played out on the landscape in Sudan. It is argued that geographic research must come to terms with the operation of the state in order to conceptualize clearly the allocation of rural resources and the transformation of agrarian economies. An in-depth case study demonstrates how the state has intervened on the behalf of those who operate mechanized agricultural schemes in the central rainlands of Sudan. It is concluded that the variegated assistance for schemes reflects the sustained exercise of class interests located in the Sudanese state.

Refugees: Geographical Aspects

The term ‘refugee’ is used to denote an individual who is forced to flee in search of safety, in contrast to someone who chooses of their own accord to relocate, i.e., a voluntary migrant. The condition of forced migration applies to more than 34 million of the estimated 100 million permanent migrants worldwide. Headquartered in Geneva, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is charged with refugee protection. According to its statute, UNHCR is competent to assist: ‘[Any person who] … owing to well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to return to it.’ International refugees, however, represent the smaller portion of the globes displaced population. The 20 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) outrank the number of ‘classic’ refugees. Most IDPs are forced to move due to explicit forms of persecution or armed conflict, but others migrate because of natural or man-made disasters.