Hosted by Border Criminologies and the Refugee Studies Centre (University of Oxford) with The Dickson Poon School of Law (King’s College London).

This series of panel discussions will examine the arguments advanced in R (on the application of AAA and others) v SSHD and analyse its implications for Rwanda, the UK, and for refugee protection more broadly.

Dina Nayeri's new book Who Gets Believed? combines deep reportage with her own life experience to examine what constitutes believability in our society. Intent on exploring ideas of persuasion and performance, Nayeri takes us behind the scenes in emergency rooms, corporate boardrooms, asylum interviews, and into her own family, to ask - where lies the difference between being believed and being dismissed? What does this mean for our culture?

Dina will be in conversation with Tom Scott-Smith, RSC Director.

What explains state responses to the refugees they receive? Discrimination and Delegation identifies two puzzling patterns: states open their borders to some refugee groups while blocking others (discrimination), and a number of countries have given the UN control of asylum procedures and refugee camps on their territory (delegation). To explain this selective exercise of sovereignty, the book develops a two-part theoretical framework in which policymakers in refugee-receiving countries weigh international and domestic concerns.

How do digital infrastructures regulate migration and the lives of those who cross borders? And how do digital media shape imaginaries of transnational mobility as a crisis and of migrants as people who need to be feared or pittied? In this talk, we discuss the growing technologization of the border and its communicative and political implications. Specifically, we speak to the emergence of the digital border, and show how technologies of communication and control now enable the realisation of borders as perpetual territorial and symbolic systems that divide Us/Them and inside/outside.

Daniel Trilling has been writing about migration, borders and refugees for more than a decade. During that time he has been both a part of the media industry, reporting on events like Europe's 2015 "refugee crisis", and an analyst of the ways media coverage can itself shape events. This talk will give an insider's account of the different forces that produce the media audiences consume.

Data visualization, or the process of communicating quantitative information to enhance understanding, is an indispensable tool for journalists and policymakers. Yet resurgent interest in story-telling with data, as well as received wisdom about these outputs’ power to change attitudes, raises deeply political questions about their forms, functions, and consequences.

The Cyber Strategy and Tech Statecraft Group meets every Wednesday during term-time. It has a hybrid meeting format, held in person in the Chester Room at Nuffield College (in person) and on Microsoft Teams (online).

Preparatory materials will be sent in advance of the session, together with discussion questions for the session. Some background knowledge or experience of the topic is recommended but not required.

Christopher Morris runs a weekly discussion group. Please be aware that group attendance may be limited. It is required to contact Christopher (Christopher.Morris@politics.ox.ac.uk) in advance for availability. Meetings will run both in person and online.

In person location: Boyd Room, Hertford College
Online: Microsoft Teams

The Cyber Strategy and Tech Statecraft Group meets every Wednesday during term-time. It has a hybrid meeting format, held in person in the Chester Room at Nuffield College (in person) and on Microsoft Teams (online).

Preparatory materials will be sent in advance of the session, together with discussion questions for the session. Some background knowledge or experience of the topic is recommended but not required.

Overview: Disinformation in Africa is a growing concern, with Russian disinformation promoting anti-Western sentiment and contributing to a series of coups that have toppled democratically elected governments in recent years. Meanwhile, China is increasingly active in spreading disinformation in the region. The challenge is compounded by recent advancements in AI, which serve to amplify the impact of disinformation. Caroline Baylon will present her research on the disinformation landscape in Africa, including her recent work for the French government and ECOWAS in West Africa.