Journal of Refugee Studies

Scope & Guideline

Advancing the discourse on forced migration and displacement.

Introduction

Immerse yourself in the scholarly insights of Journal of Refugee Studies with our comprehensive guidelines detailing its aims and scope. This page is your resource for understanding the journal's thematic priorities. Stay abreast of trending topics currently drawing significant attention and explore declining topics for a full picture of evolving interests. Our selection of highly cited topics and recent high-impact papers is curated within these guidelines to enhance your research impact.
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0951-6328
PublisherOXFORD UNIV PRESS
Support Open AccessNo
CountryUnited Kingdom
TypeJournal
Convergefrom 1988 to 2024
AbbreviationJ REFUG STUD / J. Refug. Stud.
Frequency4 issues/year
Time To First Decision-
Time To Acceptance-
Acceptance Rate-
Home Page-
AddressGREAT CLARENDON ST, OXFORD OX2 6DP, ENGLAND

Aims and Scopes

The Journal of Refugee Studies is dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of refugee issues through interdisciplinary research and critical analysis. It aims to provide a platform for scholarly discourse on the complexities of forced migration, policies, and the lived experiences of refugees.
  1. Interdisciplinary Research on Refugee Issues:
    The journal emphasizes a transdisciplinary approach, drawing from sociology, law, public health, and cultural studies to understand the multifaceted nature of refugee experiences.
  2. Focus on Policy and Legal Frameworks:
    A significant aim of the journal is to analyze the legal and policy contexts surrounding refugees, exploring how these frameworks affect their rights, protections, and integration.
  3. Exploration of Refugee Experiences and Agency:
    The journal seeks to highlight the voices and experiences of refugees themselves, focusing on their coping mechanisms, resilience, and agency in navigating displacement.
  4. Impact of Social and Economic Factors:
    Research published in the journal often examines the socio-economic conditions influencing refugees, including barriers to self-reliance, employment, and education.
  5. Cultural and Identity Studies:
    The journal also engages with cultural narratives and identity constructions among refugees, exploring how these factors shape their experiences of belonging and displacement.
Recent publications in the Journal of Refugee Studies highlight several emerging themes that reflect current global challenges and scholarly interests in refugee studies. These trends indicate a shift towards more nuanced and intersectional approaches to understanding forced migration.
  1. Intersectionality and Diverse Identities:
    An increasing number of papers focus on the intersectionality of refugee identities, particularly examining how factors like gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity shape experiences of displacement and integration.
  2. Mental Health and Wellbeing of Refugees:
    There is a growing emphasis on mental health issues among refugees, including studies that explore trauma, resilience, and coping strategies, highlighting the psychological dimensions of forced migration.
  3. Transnationalism and Belonging:
    Emerging research focuses on transnational connections and the concept of belonging, analyzing how refugees maintain ties to their home countries while integrating into host societies.
  4. Refugee Participation and Agency:
    There is a notable trend towards exploring the agency of refugees in policymaking and community building, with studies advocating for participatory approaches in addressing refugee issues.
  5. Impact of Climate Change on Displacement:
    Recent publications increasingly address the intersections between climate change and forced migration, examining how environmental factors contribute to displacement and the vulnerabilities faced by affected populations.

Declining or Waning

While the journal continues to cover a wide range of topics related to refugees, certain themes have seen a decline in prominence over recent publications. This shift reflects changing global contexts and the evolving landscape of refugee studies.
  1. Traditional Humanitarian Approaches:
    There has been a noticeable decrease in papers focusing solely on traditional humanitarian responses, such as basic needs provision, suggesting a shift towards more complex analyses of refugee agency and structural issues.
  2. Homogenized Narratives of Refugees:
    Research that presents refugees as a monolithic group, without attention to diverse experiences based on gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background, is becoming less common, reflecting a broader recognition of intersectionality.
  3. Focus on Short-Term Crisis Responses:
    The journal has moved away from studies that solely address immediate crisis responses, favoring long-term solutions and the integration processes of refugees within host societies.
  4. Legalistic Perspectives on Refugee Status:
    There appears to be a waning interest in purely legalistic analyses of refugee status determination processes, as the field increasingly emphasizes lived experiences and socio-political contexts.

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