The growth of the world's refugee population has been a major phenomenon of the late-20th century. This volume brings together senior authors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to analyze key forces shaping the contemporary experience of forced migration. It considers global, social and personal dimensions of displacement, demonstrating their close interrelationship in forging the experience of refuge. Recurrent themes include the importance of valuing the resources, capacities and meanings indigenous to refugee communities, and the intimate linkage of the personal and political in the lives of refugees. In addition to providing deeper insight into the challenges and tensions of the refugee experience, the text seeks to provide a foundation for more informed debate on refugee assistance and asylum policies and practice.