300629 Migration and asylum policies in Australia: from settler colonialism to off-shore processing (S) (SoSe 2022)

According to many European politicians Australia’s migration system is seen as a role model in successfully managing migration and thus worth emulating. This course sheds light on a number of crucial developments in Australia’s migration and asylum policies and their political impacts on the wider region as well the norm development in other parts of the Global North. While considering historical developments that are specific to Australia (e.g. White Australia Policy) we will embed our discussions in the wider debates on forced migration, sovereignty, nationalism, securitisation/militarisation and the externalisation of border control, deterrence measures, humanitarianism and rights-based approaches to refugee protection. By studying political key events in Australia (e.g. Tampa Affair, Pacific Solution I and II) through an interdisciplinary lens, students will undertake a thorough critique of the theory and practice of migration governance across these areas that will create the foundation for comparative approaches in the future.

Bibliography

Recommended readings:
Balint, Ruth. Troubled Waters: Borders, Boundaries and the Possession in the Timor Sea. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2005.
Gleeson, Madeline (2016) Offshore: Behind the wire on Manus and Nauru, Sydney: UNSW Press.
Grewcock, Michael. Border crimes: Australia’s war on illicit migrants. Sydney, N.S.W.: Institute of Criminology Press, 2009.
Hage, Ghassan. ‪White Nation: Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society‬. ‪London: Routledge, 2000.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
Marr, David and Marian Wilkinson. Dark victory: how a government lied its way to political triumph. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 2003.
Metcalfe, Susan. The Pacific Solution. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2010.
Neumann, Klaus. Across the seas: Australia’s response to refugees – a history. Collinwood, Black Inc., 2015.