Robin Cohen and Nicholas Van Hear, Refugia: Radical Solutions to Mass Displacement, Routledge, London and New York, 2019, 148 pp., $46.95, ISBN 9781138601567

Abstract

The main aim of the Refugia idea is to create a new form of transnational government. In doing so, the authors consider how to resolve displacement. Accordingly, Refugia will be led by an international virtual assembly. Refugians will have the responsibility to pay taxes to both the nation-state they live in and Refugia. Also, this situation is expected to reveal a new identity. The authors admit that this is based on utopian ideals. According to the authors, utopian thinking offers, at least, the opportunity to imagine such a management approach and a society that lives in this way. This idea outlined in the book may lead to further work in the future by nurturing initiatives on transnational governance that already exist. Today's changing conditions such as global epidemics and pandemics have brought nation-states and extreme security policies back to the agenda. At the same time, the international refugee regimes currently in place and the position of refugees raise questions about the applicability of the Refugia idea.