The refusal or reception of refugees has had serious implications for the social policies and social realities of numerous countries in east and west. Exploring experiences, interpretations and practices of 'refugees, ' 'the internally displaced' and 'returnees' in or emerging from societies in violent conflict, this volume challenges prevailing orthodoxies and encourages new developments in refugee studies. It also addresses the ethics and politics of interventions by professionals and policy makers, using case studies of refugees from or in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the Americas. These illustrate the dynamic nature of situations where refugees, policy- makers and practitioners interact in trying to construct new livelihoods in transforming societies. Without a proper understanding of this dynamic nature, so the volume argues overall, it is not possible to develop successful strategies for the accommodation and integration of refugees. Philomena Essed is Senior Researcher, University of Amsterdam and Visiting Professor of Women's Studies, University of California, Irvine. Georg Frerks is Professor of Disaster Studies, Rural Development Sociology Group, Wageningen University. Joke Schrijvers is a Social Anthropologist, Emeritus Professor of Development Studies, University of Amsterdam.