The World Refugees Made: Decolonization and the Foundation of Postwar Italy

In The World Refugees Made, Pamela Ballinger explores Italy's remaking in light of the loss of territorial possessions in Africa and the Balkans, the repatriation of Italian nationals, and the integration of these national refugees into a country devastated by war and overwhelmed by foreign displaced persons from Eastern Europe. She focuses on the consequences of the ineligibility of those migrants who became classified as national refugees from international refugee status, and the complex question of who belonged culturally and legally in an Italy that was territorially and politically reconfigured by decolonization. Ballinger's analysis illuminates the study of human rights history, humanitarianism, postwar reconstruction, fascism and its aftermaths, and modern Italian history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2023
Publisher: Cornell University Press

In her book "The World Refugees Made," Pamela Ballinger delves into the intricate transformation of Italy in the aftermath of significant territorial losses in Africa and the Balkans, the repatriation of Italian nationals from those regions, and the integration of these national refugees into a nation ravaged by war and grappling with a massive influx of foreign displaced persons from Eastern Europe. Post-World War II Italy emerged as a crucial testing ground, where the differentiation between foreign refugees and national refugees, who had crossed national boundaries, was vigorously debated, refined, and consolidated. These distinctions had far-reaching implications, shaping legal frameworks that continue to govern international refugee affairs today. By offering an alternative genealogy of the postwar international refugee regime, Ballinger centers her attention on one of its notable omissions: the exclusion of migrants who were classified as national refugees from the realm of international refugee status. The presence of displaced persons further complicated the question of cultural and legal belonging in a reconfigured Italy, where decolonization had reshaped the country's territorial and political landscape. The process of delineating different types of refugees thus represented a pivotal moment for Italy, endorsing an ethnic conception of identity that was explicitly articulated in citizenship laws. This understanding of identity remains pertinent in the present day, as Italians continue to rely on language and race as foundations of belonging amidst mass immigration and ongoing refugee crises. Ballinger's comprehensive analysis of the postwar international refugee regime and Italian decolonization sheds light on various fields of study, including human rights history, humanitarianism, postwar reconstruction, fascism, and its aftermath.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501770111