- Department of Politics, York University, Toronto, Canada
Nergis Canefe
York University, Politics, Public Policy and Law, Department Member
- Professor Nergis Canefe is a scholar trained in the fields of Political Philosophy, Forced Migration Studies and Inte... moreProfessor Nergis Canefe is a scholar trained in the fields of Political Philosophy, Forced Migration Studies and International Public Law with a special focus on Human Rights Law, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Mass Violence. She has over twenty years of experience in conducting in-depth qualitative research with displaced communities and teaching global human rights. Her research experience includes working with the Muslim and Jewish Diasporas in Europe and North America, refugees and displaced peoples in Turkey, Cyprus, India, Uganda, South Africa, Bosnia and Colombia. She is the Vice President of IASFM (2021-2024) and a member of the executive board since 2017. She co-edits the Journal of Conflict Transformation and Security with Professor Alp Ozerdem, Dean of Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University. She was the Associate Director of the Center for Refugee Studies, York University between 2008-2013 and oversaw the Center's educational programs and certificate/diploma requirements. She is also an advisory board member at the Royal Roads University Faculty of Graduate Studies, Canada.
In the field of legal studies, she specializes in international criminal law, with particular emphasis on crimes against humanity, accountability for atrocities committed by states against their own peoples, critical approaches to citizenship, and transitional justice. Dr. Canefe joined York University in 2003 and has been a full-time faculty member regularly teaching at departments of Political Science, Social and Political Thought, Socio-Legal Studies, Public Policy, Administration and Law at both undergraduate and graduate levels. She also worked at London School of Economics, UK , Shanghai University, China, Bilgi University and Bogazici University, Turkey as a faculty member.
In the field of social and political theory, Dr. Canefe published widely in the following areas: theories of nationalism in the Global South, organized violence, mass murder, societal amnesia, forced migration and post-colonial state formations in the Middle East, Muslim and Jewish diasporas in the West, and, minority rights and statelessness. She has done extensive fieldwork on the role of political violence and forced migration in post-imperial nation-state formation and capital accumulation in the Middle East. Her research has been funded by international and Canadian organizations. She also regularly conducts her human rights, minority rights, and refugee rights-related work on a pro bono basis. She acted as an expert witness and public lecturer on subjects related to forced migration, diasporas in exile, minority rights, and genocide in international and Canadian media, Canadian courts, and Canadian and Turkish public service. She has over 100 scholarly articles and several books, including Limits of Universal Jurisdiction: Crimes Against Humanity Redefined (2021, University of Wales International Law Series), The Syrian Exodus in Context (2018, Bilgi University International Law and Migration Series), Transitional Justice and Forced Migration (2019, Cambridge University Press) The Jewish Diaspora as a Paradigm: Politics, Religion and Belonging (2014, Libra Press –Jewish Studies Series), Milliyetcilik, Kimlik ve Aidiyet (2006, Nationalism, Identity and Belonging], Istanbul: Bilgi University Publishing House), and Turkey and European Integration: Accession Prospects and Issues (2004, in collaboration with Mehmet Ugur, Routledge). Her scholarly articles appeared in Nations and Nationalism, Citizenship Studies, New Perspectives, Refugee Watch, Refuge, South East European Studies, Peace Review, Middle Eastern Law and Governance, Globalizations, Narrative Politics, International Journal of Human Rights, etc. She is also a mural painter and visual artist who often designs her own book covers.
Supervisors: Howard Adelman (PhD), Obiora Okafor (SJD)edit - Howard Adelman (PhD), Obiora Okafor (SJD)edit
V posledních měsících se intenzivně debatuje, jakou roli bude hrát umělá inteligence při tvorbě akademických textů. Řeší se třeba, nakolik změnit náš přístup ke kvalifikačním pracím a jejich hodnocení. Samozřejmě její nástroje dnes pořád... more
V posledních měsících se intenzivně debatuje, jakou roli bude hrát umělá inteligence při tvorbě akademických textů. Řeší se třeba, nakolik změnit náš přístup ke kvalifikačním pracím a jejich hodnocení. Samozřejmě její nástroje dnes pořád mají výrazné limity. Texty zpracované s její pomocí nejsou inovativní, jejich formulace bývají příliš obecné. Aplikace jako ChatGPT neumí zohledňovat relevanci zdrojů, a nakonec ani nemá problém si je vymyslet. Vzpomínám, jak mi jedna studentka řekla, že jí na dotaz, co si má k určitému tématu přečíst, doporučila fiktivní knihu, ale připsanou skutečnému autorovi. Nikdo však nemůže vyloučit, že tyto limity časem odpadnou a že bude podávat stejně dobré výkony jako většina akademiků. To nás nutí položit si otázku, zda má akademická práce nějaký specifický rozměr, který nedokáže uchopit stroj. Samozřejmě by bylo neskromné myslet si, že na ni zvládnu dát vyčerpávající odpověď v rámci pouhého úvodníku. Rád bych jen řekl, že i v případě záporné odpovědi na ni, nemusíme propadat pesimismu. Když píšu, ať už jakékoliv texty, nepoužívám ChatGPT. Ne proto, že bych ho nepovažoval za užitečný nástroj, ale protože mě psaní zkrátka těší. Pokud je pro mne vědecká práce sama zážitkem, nemám potřebu ji převádět na takového pomocníka. Vylepšování nástrojů umělé inteligence bychom tak mohli vnímat i jako příležitost, jak akademickou práci osvobodit-již by nebyla otázkou získávání příjmu nebo uspokojení ctižádosti, ale mohla by získat osobnější rozměr. Mohlo by být takovým posunem zdůrazněno, že je něčím, co člověk dělá, protože mu přináší radost, případně je důležitou součástí jeho identity. Bylo by chybou vnímat technologický pokrok jako hrozbu pro lidi nebo instituce-měl by být brán především jako příležitost. Číslo, které se nyní dostává čtenáři do rukou, sice není věnováno problémům umělé inteligence, ale i tak v sobě propojuje pestrou paletu témat. Zastoupeny jsou texty věnující se vztahu práva a náboženství, ale i filozofickým problémům souvisejícím s mezinárodním trestním právem. Domnívám se, že právě pestrost v tématech i přístupech je důležitá, protože nám pomáhá dívat se na věci z nových perspektiv. Nepochybuji, že autory práce na jejich článcích bavila. Věřím, že čtenáře našeho časopisu bude bavit jejich četba.
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This article invites the reader to consider the limits of seeking to build social peace and political transformation only by guaranteeing criminal accountability for the 'individual perpetrators' of mass atrocities. Especially in the... more
This article invites the reader to consider the limits of seeking to build social peace and political transformation only by guaranteeing criminal accountability for the 'individual perpetrators' of mass atrocities. Especially in the context of transitional justice and communal/mass violence, this issue is of paramount importance. The historically important questions discussed in the article show the necessity of redefining the concept of collective responsibility. For example, do our relationships with the collective spheres of existence as individuals lead to complicity and/or collective responsibility in the event that marginalized population groups in society are harmed in the hands of the state authorities? As these and similar difficult questions are addressed in the article with a contextualized reading of Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, the social dimension of mass crimes extending beyond the criminal justice system is highlighted.
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ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its... more
ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its consequences as suffering and death through the lens of time. The main argument draws on Dylan Thomas’ poem to introduce the politics of the Anthoropocene and addresses the question of death beyond contemporary forms of understanding human suffering via the concept of the aporia of death.
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This essay documents my three-decade-long journey of connections and resultant transformations between scholarly knowledge and artistic production in my work. In reinvestigating my history with stage and visual arts, I trace the... more
This essay documents my three-decade-long journey of connections and resultant transformations between scholarly knowledge and artistic production in my work. In reinvestigating my history with stage and visual arts, I trace the relationship between traditionally ‘alien’ practices and academic understandings of societal and political mass violence and invite the reader to reconsider what academia stands for in order to engage with borderless histories of conflict, violence, and displacement. This essay dwells on how artistic engagement is both a personal and a profoundly political process through which the experience of violence is communicated through thoughts, emotions, hopes, and expressions of trauma. There are also significant ethical concerns present concerning the portrayal of violence, death, and suffering, which the paper discusses under the aegis of ethics of witnessing as responsibility.
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Statelessness is a long-overlooked and yet pervasive phenomenon that has shaped the postindependence history of states across the Global South. As a legal concept, it describes the absence of a recognized link between an individual and a... more
Statelessness is a long-overlooked and yet pervasive phenomenon that has shaped the postindependence history of states across the Global South. As a legal concept, it describes the absence of a
recognized link between an individual and a legal entity authorized to grant nationality and
citizenship. This paper examines the historical trajectory of the creation of “stateless peoples” to
ascertain national boundaries and the transfer of wealth and possessions from targeted ethnoreligious groups to others in select post-colonial/post-imperial states. It asserts that the current
statelessness paradigm has ahistorical aspects and overlooks the long tradition of ethnic cleansing in
many parts of the Global South. It also argues that the creation of a national citizenry which befits a
dominant political and economic project of governance and post-independence sovereignty often
requires the normalization of statelessness as an interim solution.
recognized link between an individual and a legal entity authorized to grant nationality and
citizenship. This paper examines the historical trajectory of the creation of “stateless peoples” to
ascertain national boundaries and the transfer of wealth and possessions from targeted ethnoreligious groups to others in select post-colonial/post-imperial states. It asserts that the current
statelessness paradigm has ahistorical aspects and overlooks the long tradition of ethnic cleansing in
many parts of the Global South. It also argues that the creation of a national citizenry which befits a
dominant political and economic project of governance and post-independence sovereignty often
requires the normalization of statelessness as an interim solution.
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This article examines the applicability of the ethno‐symbolic approach to the study of patriotic Turkish nationalism. In this venue, first it addresses the issue of why many of the existing theoretical models are difficult to use for... more
This article examines the applicability of the ethno‐symbolic approach to the study of patriotic Turkish nationalism. In this venue, first it addresses the issue of why many of the existing theoretical models are difficult to use for attending to the case of Turkish nationalism in a comparative framework. Capitalising on the ethno‐symbolic understanding of ideological and ethno‐cultural continuities in the formation of modern nationalisms, this study provides an analysis of points of contestation regarding the history of modern, patriotic Turkish nationalism. It then discusses the demographic and socio‐cultural background of the bonding of exiled masses of Ottoman Muslims with the native Muslims of Anatolia under the banner of a revived, independent Turkish nation. The debate offered here is based on a critical evaluation of the myths and symbols of Turkish national identity within the larger context and time frame of Ottoman/Turkish history.
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This article offers a critique of the optimism generated by the new political culture of 'European citizenship' based on a historical analysis of the content and utilisation of citizenship laws in pre-and... more
This article offers a critique of the optimism generated by the new political culture of 'European citizenship' based on a historical analysis of the content and utilisation of citizenship laws in pre-and post-reunification Germany. It argues that even if nationality ceases to be a ...
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As a post-colonial society emerging from protracted conflict, Afghanistan confronts a complex legacy of past so-cietal and political crimes and widespread violence. Communist rulers, Soviet occupiers, rural resistance fighters, Islamist... more
As a post-colonial society emerging from protracted conflict, Afghanistan confronts a complex legacy of past so-cietal and political crimes and widespread violence. Communist rulers, Soviet occupiers, rural resistance fighters, Islamist parties, the Taleban movement, Pakistani volunteers, al-Qaeda members, power-seeking warlords and the anti-Taliban coalition all contributed to the litany of abuses since 1978 across the country, all of which led to multiple waves of exodus.1 Almost no one in the Afghan society has been untouched, and almost no one with any power has clean hands.Critically, evaluating the way the ‘local’ is consulted in post-conflict efforts towards reconciliation is of utmost importance under these strenuous circumstances. There is a tendency in transitional justice efforts to contain the discussion of the local within religious and cultural parameters in the Global South, thus engaging only with a ‘static local’, as interpreted by certain local stakeholders (Canefe, 2019). Instead, attention must be paid to a ‘dynamic local’ where societal norms evolve, and realities on the ground are shaped by shifting power dynamics, local hierarchies and inequalities between actors. The local must be understood as an inter-subjective concept, the meaning of which is not only evolving but is also dependent on who is consulted to construct and interpret it. In addition, this brings us to the issue of the displaced and the dispossessed and their role concerning the future of the country
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ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its... more
ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its consequences as suffering and death through the lens of time. The main argument draws on Dylan Thomas’ poem to introduce the politics of the Anthoropocene and addresses the question of death beyond contemporary forms of understanding human suffering via the concept of the aporia of death.
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In his book on the co-existence of cultures in the Near East, Charles Issawi (1998) states that during Roman times, Beirut had the leading law school in the Roman Empire, while one of the most efficient and rigorously planned economic... more
In his book on the co-existence of cultures in the Near East, Charles Issawi (1998) states that during Roman times, Beirut had the leading law school in the Roman Empire, while one of the most efficient and rigorously planned economic systems in history was set up in Egypt and Jews were among the prime admirers and cultivators of the GrecoRoman culture (pp.7-9). Similarly, historian Arnold Toynbee’s texts
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This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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article "Transformations: A Personal History of Introducing Complicité into Academic Life and Learning Communities" has been published in Genealogy as part of the Special Issue Stories of Violence, War, and Displacement: Intersections... more
article "Transformations: A Personal
History of Introducing Complicité into Academic Life and Learning
Communities" has been published in Genealogy as part of the Special Issue
Stories of Violence, War, and Displacement: Intersections of Life, Research,
and Knowledge Production and is available online:
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/89
PDF Version: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/89/pdf
History of Introducing Complicité into Academic Life and Learning
Communities" has been published in Genealogy as part of the Special Issue
Stories of Violence, War, and Displacement: Intersections of Life, Research,
and Knowledge Production and is available online:
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/89
PDF Version: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/4/89/pdf
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This article invites the reader to consider the limits of seeking to build social peace and political transformation only by guaranteeing criminal accountability for the 'individual perpetrators' of mass atrocities. Especially in the... more
This article invites the reader to consider the limits of seeking to build social peace and political transformation only by guaranteeing criminal accountability for the 'individual perpetrators' of mass atrocities. Especially in the context of transitional justice and communal/mass violence, this issue is of paramount importance. The historically important questions discussed in the article show the necessity of redefining the concept of collective responsibility. For example, do our relationships with the collective spheres of existence as individuals lead to complicity and/or collective responsibility in the event that marginalized population groups in society are harmed in the hands of the state authorities? As these and similar difficult questions are addressed in the article with a contextualized reading of Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, the social dimension of mass crimes extending beyond the criminal justice system is highlighted.
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This is a draft paper prepared for an edited volume on International Law and Cultural Heritage, forthcoming in 2024.
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My goal in this article is to expand the horizon of decolonization, as a method in the specific context of forced migration studies. I strive to reappropriate methodologies developed by scholars who work directly on decolonization in... more
My goal in this article is to expand the horizon of decolonization, as a method in the specific context of forced migration studies. I strive to reappropriate methodologies developed by scholars who work directly on decolonization in order to foreground “an ethic of incom- mensurability” (Mair and Evans 2015; see also Baldwin 2017) recognizing what is distinct in project(s) of decolonization in relation to forced migration studies. I do so by pointing out the unsettling themes that emerge out of transnational/Third World takes on decolonization and critical pedagogies with particular emphasis on conceptualizations of dispossession and displacement in South Asia
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This is a contribution of critical insights published in the special issue of the PKI Global Justice Journal, co-edited by former Amnesty General Director Alex Neve and Queen's University Law Professor Sharry Aiken. See paper at... more
This is a contribution of critical insights published in the special issue of the PKI Global Justice Journal, co-edited by former Amnesty General Director Alex Neve and Queen's University Law Professor Sharry Aiken. See paper at https://globaljustice.queenslaw.ca/news/special-issue-on-refugee-responsibility-sharing-agreements-aug-2023#Return
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My goal in this article is to expand the horizon of decolonization, as a method in the specific context of forced migration studies. Decolonization is not “simply a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve in our societies”... more
My goal in this article is to expand the horizon of decolonization, as a method in the specific context of forced migration studies. Decolonization is not “simply a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve in our societies” (Tuck and Yang 2012). Such easy adoptions of the decolonizing discourse via educational advocacy and scholarship, evidenced by an increasing number of calls to “decol- onize our schools”, to use “decolonizing methods”, or, to “decolonize academic thinking”, turn decolonization into a placeholder with no clear meaning, a roadmap for action devoid of actual content. As important as their goals may be, debates on social justice, critical race theory, critical methodologies, or approaches that aim to decentre settler perspectives do not allocate substance to decolonization, either.
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The present investigation explores specific ways in which forced migration scholarship could bring about learning opportunities hand in hand with analyses of displacement and dispossession. The aim of the chapter is threefold. It proposes... more
The present investigation explores specific ways in which forced migration scholarship could bring about learning opportunities hand in hand with analyses of displacement and dispossession. The aim of the chapter is threefold. It proposes that a new ethics of witnessing as applied to the work of scholars of forced migration is to be construed as a form of responsibility; it sheds light on pedagogical/curricular interventions which could produce a targeted and radical-justice oriented form of scholarly engagement, especially in context of gender-specific historical trauma and widespread and state-sponsored or condoned violence; and, it provides a roadmap concerning how progressive pedagogies based on witnessing can motivate scholars and researchers to develop an articulate understanding of affect that could encourage transformative political responses and processes.
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Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. Thomas Gray Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) This... more
Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. Thomas Gray Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) This chapter examines key questions regarding socio-legal studies (SLS) and social change, with
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Drowning by Numbers Nergis Canefe 1 Contextual Essay This essay is a curatorial take on the representation and reception of displaced and disposessed populations trying to escape life-threatening conditions in the Middle East and North... more
Drowning by Numbers Nergis Canefe 1 Contextual Essay This essay is a curatorial take on the representation and reception of displaced and disposessed populations trying to escape life-threatening conditions in the Middle East and North Africa through sea voyages across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas during the past decade. It is written in the style of narrative politics. It explores how the definition of a public audience shape and are shaped by the very politics of representation. In particular, it addresses how the use of narrative and story-telling approaches in non-textual formats situate the events in question under a different ethical and political light.
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This chapter will argue that borders consist of an overlapping and changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, his- tories, meanings and roles. Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of ‘bor-... more
This chapter will argue that borders consist of an overlapping and
changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, his-
tories, meanings and roles. Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of ‘bor-
dering processes’ with social, economic and political underpinnings, they have to be
permanently aligned, reproduced and justified while maintaining the simulacrum of
fixity and stability. In Van Houtum’s words, borders are a ‘fabricated truth’ (Van
Houtum, The mask of the border. In: Wastl-Walter D (ed). The Ashgate research
companion to border studies. Ashgate, Farnham, 2011: 49). Their lived experience
and the limits of their containment function are best observed in the way they define,
undefined and redefine citizenship and belonging.
changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, his-
tories, meanings and roles. Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of ‘bor-
dering processes’ with social, economic and political underpinnings, they have to be
permanently aligned, reproduced and justified while maintaining the simulacrum of
fixity and stability. In Van Houtum’s words, borders are a ‘fabricated truth’ (Van
Houtum, The mask of the border. In: Wastl-Walter D (ed). The Ashgate research
companion to border studies. Ashgate, Farnham, 2011: 49). Their lived experience
and the limits of their containment function are best observed in the way they define,
undefined and redefine citizenship and belonging.
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This article posits that concerning the Syrian exodus, what is desperately needed is the development of an ideational platform that underscores the importance of public responsibility concerning immigration issues. Europe did not become... more
This article posits that concerning the Syrian exodus, what is desperately needed is the development of an ideational platform that underscores the importance of public responsibility concerning immigration issues. Europe did not become what it is as a desolate island of wealth. As long as there is unequal development and suffering engulfing the dreamland of welfare, opportunity and glitz, there will be continuous flows reaching the shores of Europe as a matter of necessity rather than choice. Of the various ethical perspectives available to discuss ethics in the context of migration, when migration as necessity is the entry point, rule of law positivism does not suffice. Similarly, contractarian legal ethics becomes a dead end in and of itself because of its heavy emphasis on state sovereignty and keeping what you take from others all to yourself and defending your choice in the name of borders. Neither Kantianism nor cosmopolitanism provide enough of a motivation to care for the ordeals of those who are not seen as a 'natural' part of the political community, either. Instead, we need an approach that capitalizes on a global methodology of redistributive and restorative justice and an adjuvant legal ethics pertaining to forced migration that could bring these realizations home. It is all well and good to wish that the displaced of Africa remain in Africa, the war victims of the Middle East to run into other Middle Eastern countries who may well be going through their own wars, the dispossessed of South East Asia to be divided up among the powerful nations of the region and never pour out of the original geographical boundaries that contained them. However, the reality of the situation that in a world torn apart and ridden with deep inequalities where citizenship in another country becomes as an acquired asset for those who are tarnishing in their country of origin, this desire of containing human suffering and human need is not attainable. Syrians are coming, not to Europe perhaps, but wherever they can get to because life in Syria does not even allow seeds to grow anymore.
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ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its... more
ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its consequences as suffering and death through the lens of time. The main argument draws on Dylan Thomas’ poem to introduce the politics of the Anthoropocene and addresses the question of death beyond contemporary forms of understanding human suffering via the concept of the aporia of death.
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ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its... more
ABSTRACT This short essay explores the notions of ontological recognition in relation to ecological disasters, and examines possibilities for survival. It presents forced migration as an important aspect of the anthropocene and its consequences as suffering and death through the lens of time. The main argument draws on Dylan Thomas’ poem to introduce the politics of the Anthoropocene and addresses the question of death beyond contemporary forms of understanding human suffering via the concept of the aporia of death.
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Bogazici Universities in Turkey. Her areas of interest are minority rights, diaspora politics, transnational politics of religion, critical citizenship studies, and, crimes against humanity. Her publications appeared in journals including... more
Bogazici Universities in Turkey. Her areas of interest are minority rights, diaspora politics, transnational politics of religion, critical citizenship studies, and, crimes against humanity. Her publications appeared in journals including Citizenship Studies, Nations
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This chapter will argue that borders consist of an overlapping and changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, histories, meanings and roles. Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of ‘bordering... more
This chapter will argue that borders consist of an overlapping and changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, histories, meanings and roles. Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of ‘bordering processes’ with social, economic and political underpinnings, they have to be permanently aligned, reproduced and justified while maintaining the simulacrum of fixity and stability. In Van Houtum’s words, borders are a ‘fabricated truth’ (Van Houtum, The mask of the border. In: Wastl-Walter D (ed). The Ashgate research companion to border studies. Ashgate, Farnham, 2011: 49). Their lived experience and the limits of their containment function are best observed in the way they define, undefined and redefine citizenship and belonging.
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This article attends to the connections between neo-liberal and neo-developmentalist labour regimes, asylum and immigration management, and the exploitation of undocumented, refugee, and migrant women, based on the experiences of Syrian... more
This article attends to the connections between neo-liberal and neo-developmentalist labour regimes, asylum and immigration management, and the exploitation of undocumented, refugee, and migrant women, based on the experiences of Syrian refugee women in Turkey. The concept of precarity is explored as a selectively applied strategy by states to people who lack “status” or who are unable to benefit from “membership rights.” Forced migrants, illegal migrants, and asylum seekers are directly implicated in highly precarious work experiences at the bottom end of labour markets across the Global South, becoming trapped in forced labour and human trafficking arrangements. The article establishes a link between extreme forms of migrant labour exploitation in precarious life worlds and gender-based profiling of life chances.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Immigration, Political Science, Human Trafficking, Gender, and 14 moreTurkey, Middle Eastern Studies, Forced Migration, Precarity, Middle East, Articles, Refugee, Dispossession, Political Economy of Euro Crisis, Refugee women, Refuge, Forced Labour, Syrian Refugees, and Law and Legal Studies
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This paper will examine the European Union's appropriation of the international law precepts concerning crimes against humanity and the resultant emergence of a new, regional regime of accountability regarding these crimes. It will... more
This paper will examine the European Union's appropriation of the international law precepts concerning crimes against humanity and the resultant emergence of a new, regional regime of accountability regarding these crimes. It will first attend to the history of politico-legal ...
Publication View. 50576092. Sovereign utopias, civilisational boundaries of Greek and Turkish nationhood, 1821-1923 (1998). Canefe, Nergis. Publication details. Download,... more
Publication View. 50576092. Sovereign utopias, civilisational boundaries of Greek and Turkish nationhood, 1821-1923 (1998). Canefe, Nergis. Publication details. Download, http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0015/NQ27284.pdf. ...
Rethinking Displacement: Transitional Justice and Forced
Migration Studies
Migration Studies
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This book examines the Syrian crisis and exodus by focusing on the experiences of the dispossessed rather than the recipient states. Reintegration and resettlement after situations of mass displacement are generally long-term,... more
This book examines the Syrian crisis and exodus by focusing on the experiences of the dispossessed rather than the recipient states. Reintegration and resettlement after situations of mass displacement are generally long-term, multi-faceted and complex processes. Whether we are talking about acceptance in a new society as refugees, migrants, and guest workers, or returning home to postconflict situations, each scenario involves both specific physical challenges and difficult encounters with broader political communities. The debate presented here on precarity and statelessness in terms of systemic denial of access to rights, or, their selective attribution to Syrians on the move, allows us to reconsider the Syrian exodus in a new framework that links forced migration, labour studies, citizenship and rights debates rather than isolating the refugee experience. For quite some time we had been awaiting such a book that will connect in a singular global theme the wars of our time, forced migration, and the emergence of precarious labour force throughout the world in this neoliberal age. Nergis Canefe's Syrian Exodus in the context of the neoliberal crisis of the global state system and the resultant statelessness, dispossession, and mobility is that kind of book. It is profound. It does not waste vacuous words on humanitarianism and pious wishes for universal respect for human rights. It tells us what war means in real life, the destruction of all possible means of realisation of rights, and how the upheaval in West Asia and the North African region is redrawing boundaries, destroying old stable orders that were once the basis of citizenship, and the consequent emergence of statelessness on an unprecedented scale. The book's merit lies in deciphering the crisis in the traditional discourse of refugee studies in the light of the current crisis of the state system and the global governance regime. It shows how after three decades of the end of the Second World War various forms of migration eroded citizenship as the basis of rights. Consequently, as the book explains, the traditional role of the nation-state as the harbinger of rights is also largely over. This book helps us to understand the all round precariousness signified by migration today: precarious state of rights, precarious nature of the legal remedies, precarious lives, and above all precarious forms of labour at the service of neoliberal capitalism. The Syrians have arrived in contemporary history as the great signifier of a viciously transforming age. Professor Ranabir Samaddar, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group Nergis Canefe's timely book is an important contribution to the literature on the forced migration of Syrians as she shifts the focus of their displacement from European fears to the context of the Middle East and the countries that have received most of the refugees, primarily Turkey. Through the lenses of transitional justice and citizenship, Canefe exposes the long historical roots of the exodus and particularly sheds light on the trials and tribulations of undocumented, refugee and migrant Syrians. She argues that it is not necessary to wait for the end of a war to begin to address the causes and consequences of displacement and sets out strategies to move beyond a humanitarian response putting refugees themselves at the centre of the process to build a better future.
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Edmund Husserl 2 I. The Burial of the Dead April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding... more
Edmund Husserl 2 I. The Burial of the Dead April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you
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This article argues that borders consist of an overlapping and changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, histories, meanings and roles (Diener and Hagen 2012). Furthermore, not only that they are the... more
This article argues that borders consist of an overlapping and changeable set of boundaries with different and often contradictory functions, histories, meanings and roles (Diener and Hagen 2012). Furthermore, not only that they are the outcome of 'bordering processes' with social, economical and political underpinnings, they have to be permanently aligned, reproduced and justified while maintaining the simulacrum of fixity and stability. Their lived experience and the limits of their containment function are best observed in the way they define, undefined and redefine citizenship and belonging. In the following pages, I thus posit that shifting our emphasis from borders to relational geographies in South Asia is the first step towards undoing the pre-existing 'containment thinking' that historically framed debates on citizenship. Although a certain degree of legal-political verity is required when addressing issues of sovereignty, spaces of class, identity, ethnicity, and in general alterity readily transcend the border. This is not simply a matter of transforming " thick borders " into " thin borders " , but an invitation to expand the horizon of our understanding in terms of critical practices that could override bordering of citizenship and rights (Kostakopoulou 2006). In turn, examining power within the bordering process itself and vis-à-vis underlining relational geographies demarcated by different types of boundaries illustrate why trans-border activities could not be addressed with reference to the geopolitical dimensions of the border and its adjacent formulation of national citizenship alone. Hence is the relevance and importance of the hybridization of postcolonial theory and studies of the subaltern not just for analyzing migration and mobility in the South Asian context but also for understanding the dynamics of border maintenance and socio-political surveillance vis-à-vis post-colonial citizenship regimes. I suggest three possible interventions in this regard: stretching the boundaries of the spaces and histories that mark the post-colonial state; paying closer attention to the spatial connections forged between seemingly disparate places through migration and trans-border activities in the region and in particular the special position of the dispossessed as potent new political actors, and, challenging hierarchical notions of identity and/or place reproduced by the post-colonial state in terms of vulnerable populations' citizenship status.
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This paper attends to the connections between neoliberal and neo-developmentalist labor regimes, asylum and immigration management, and the exploitation of undocumented, refugee and migrant women based on the experiences of Syrian refugee... more
This paper attends to the connections between neoliberal and neo-developmentalist labor regimes, asylum and immigration management, and the exploitation of undocumented, refugee and migrant women based on the experiences of Syrian refugee women in Turkey. The concept of precarity is explored not just as a way of understanding intensification of insecure work within the post-Fordist framework as a marker of late capitalism, but also as a selectively applied strategy by states to people who lack 'status' or who are unable to benefit from 'membership rights'. In this matrix, Syrian women are singularly disadvantaged. Forced migrants, illegal migrants and asylum seekers are directly implicated in highly precarious work experiences at the bottom end of labor markets across the Global South, including becoming trapped in forced labor and human trafficking arrangements. Building on existing research on the experiences of Syrian women who have become migrants and asylum seekers, the paper establishes a link between extreme forms of migrant labor exploitation in precarious lifeworlds and gender-based profiling of life-chances. Specifically, I argue that the experiences of Syrian women and girls who are displaced in the region comply with the definition of 'hyper-precarity', signifying a dangerous overlap of gender, ethnicity, class-position and citizenship-status.
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History of crimes against humanity and current application
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History of crimes against humanity…current developments
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Interview on Anthropecene
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podcast plus website on reconciliation(s)
https://on.soundcloud.com/ncyTj
https://www.reconciliations.ca
https://on.soundcloud.com/ncyTj
https://www.reconciliations.ca
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This is a summary of the York Community Conversation held at the Noor Cultural Center on March 2nd, 2018.
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History of crimes against humanity and contemporary applications
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Two special websites prepared for public use are listed below. The first one is on 'working with human suffering', and the second one is on indigenous politics. Both of them are critical resource websites. Working with Human Suffering... more
Two special websites prepared for public use are listed below.
The first one is on 'working with human suffering', and the second one is on indigenous politics. Both of them are critical resource websites.
Working with Human Suffering Website Link:
https://sites.google.com/view/workingwithhumansuffering
Reparations Website Link:
https://www.reconciliations.ca/
The first one is on 'working with human suffering', and the second one is on indigenous politics. Both of them are critical resource websites.
Working with Human Suffering Website Link:
https://sites.google.com/view/workingwithhumansuffering
Reparations Website Link:
https://www.reconciliations.ca/
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A review of the webarchive completed by Nergis Canefe on the reception of Syrian refugees in Canada.