Wessels, ‘Fundamental tensions and productive instability’, 2021
- Category: Literature
- Source: Academic
- Subject: Sexual Orientation/Sexuality, Refugee/Asylum
- Place: Europe, Germany, Other
- Year: 2021
- File: Fundamental tensions and productive instability - The refugee definition of the 1951 Refugee Convention at 70 through a queer theory lens
- URL: https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2021/12/07/fundamental-tensions-and-productive-instability-the-refugee-definition-of-the-1951-refugee-convention-at-70-through-a-queer-theory-lens/
Janna Wessels, ‘Fundamental tensions and productive instability: The refugee definition of the 1951 Refugee Convention at 70 through a queer theory lens’, RLI Blog, 7 December 2021
Abstract
Along with the 1951 Convention, the definition of who qualifies as a refugee turns 70 this year. This blog post uses a queer theory lens to uncover various tensions at the very core of the refugee definition. Using the resilience of the problematic ‘discretion’ reasoning in refugee status determinations in Germany and France as an example, it illustrates how these overlapping tensions create instability, for claims based on sexuality as well as other grounds. The post argues that this web of contradictions can be used productively in favour of each individual claimant – and helps explain the adaptability and continued relevance of the 1951 Refugee Convention 70 years after it was drafted.