Stolen lives: What the dead teach us

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Human Rights Law
• Critical Race Theory

Background:

• International human rights discourse's definition of "refugee" is questioned.
• The concept of "racializing assemblages" is introduced as an analytical tool.
• Existing frameworks of "political death," "social death," and "muertas en vida" are discussed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critique the utility of the social category of "refugee" within human rights discourse.
• To analyze the deportation machine and mass incarceration of refugees/asylum seekers as "death spaces."
• To explore alternative emancipatory frameworks for understanding "the refugee."

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis drawing on "racializing assemblages."
• Interrogation of "political death," "social death," and "muertas en vida."
• Historical examination of "African American fugitivity" as a model for freedom.

Main Results:

• The current definition of "refugee" is deemed insufficient for addressing systemic persecution.
• Deportation and incarceration function as "death spaces" within Western societies.
• "Racializing assemblages" contribute to the marginalization and dehumanization of refugees.

Conclusions:

• An alternative framing of "the refugee" is needed, moving beyond human rights paradigms.
• Emancipatory possibilities can be found in historical resistance, such as "African American fugitivity."
• Reclaiming freedom from persecution and enslavement requires new conceptual tools and historical perspectives.