Mehdi Hashemirahaghi

Topic

Pursuit of the Unknown: Understanding Refugee Decision-Making

Department of Political Science

Date & location

• Friday, September 13, 2024

• 10:00 A.M.

• Clearihue Building

• Room B017 and Virtual

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Scott Watson, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

• Dr. Oliver Schmidtke, Department of Political Science, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Martin Bunton, Department of History, UVic (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Dagmar Soennecken, Public Policy and Administration, York University 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Tatiana Degai, Department of Anthropology, UVic 

Abstract

The 2015 refugee ‘crisis’ resulted in one of the largest refugee movements since the Second World War. The construction of refugee movements as a ‘crisis’ contributed to state centric responses primarily dehumanizing refugees and promoting restrictive protection policies. The 2015 refugee ‘crisis’ was a reminder that there is a gap in understanding how refugees make their decisions along their journeys as refugee movements of the mid-2010s defied the conventional expectations, in both legal and theoretical realms, for refugee behavior. To fill these gaps, this study explores refugee decision-making by investigating refugees’ own stories. The primary question driving this study is how do refugees make their decisions? And why do different refugees make different decisions within seemingly similar situations? Building on legal, historical, and theoretical accounts of refugee behavior, this study proposes a new theoretical framework, called Interactive Decision-making Model. This model is composed of three main components: spectrum of coercion, spectrum of time, and decision-making environment. Through interactions with these components, refugees make their decisions along their journeys. Utilizing a qualitative narrative analysis approach, this study develops and explores the viability of this model. Through interviews with forty-four refugees from Iran and Syria, it demonstrates how coercion, time, and decision-making environment inform refugees’ decisions throughout their journeys. The findings of these interviews highlight the diversity of refugees’ experiences and behaviors. They also call for more inclusive protection policies that are reflective of refugees’ experiences and decision making processes.